Monday, February 13, 2012
End of the Road for Mirvac at Tennyson
Friday, September 30, 2011
Regulations relaxed for Tennyson Reach - then Floods
The unit, along with another one in the complex he was leasing, was inundated during the Brisbane floods in January this year.
After the flood, which caused major damage to his unit and destroyed furniture, art and other belongings, Mr Dunworth said he discovered his unit was more than two metres below the 1974 flood level. He also discovered regulations that required the property to be set back 20 metres had been relaxed to allow his unit complex to be built just six metres from the river.
"I think if I had known all these things we would have considered making a different decision," he said.
He said sellers should be required to provide the information up front. Mr Dunworth said he believed that since a major property developer, Mirvac, was behind the project and it had the backing of the state government and planning approval from the Brisbane City Council, all necessary precautions would have been taken.
"I just assumed that the most stringent conditions were being imposed," he told the inquiry.
Source: SMH
The values at Tennyson Reach have dropped by 30% to 50%.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Tennyson Reach Contract Cancelled Due to Flood
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Tennyson Reach Write Down
The latest writedown, which the company previously foreshadowed, brings the total in the group's residential land assets to $295m this year.
Mirvac said that since the January floods, the Tennyson residential market had limited transactions and pricing had been affected by uncertainties created by the pending results of the Queensland flood inquiries.
The group revalued the carrying value of Tennyson Reach, including 43 unsold apartments and the remaining undeveloped land.
"This has led to a provision of $80.8m, resulting in zero value as at May 31, 2011," the company said in an ASX announcement."
See also Courier Mail
This is not a surprise. This development was not in a great location, and there are very few facilities for residents in the area. The development had bombed well prior to the flood -- the flood was the last blow for a dog of a project.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Mirvac Abandons Tennyson Reach
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Tennyson Prices
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Tennyson Reach - Legal Decisions
"As already noted, Mr Cox values the apartment at $1,500,000 and said that its value would have been $1,750,000 had the view been the equivalent of that from the display centre. " Mirvac v. Holland
"The defendant [Mirvac] is in possession of the apartment. After the flood, it removed the mud. The walls of the apartment consisted of Gyprock sheeting. The defendant removed the lower level of the Gyprock, which was flood affected. Wiring was disconnected; switches were removed and piled into a heap; appliances were disconnected. Dunworth v. Mirvac
"It is that the area of a part of the actual Lot varies by more than five per cent from the area depicted upon the drawing for that part. In this case the area of each of the balconies varies from what was shown within the original drawing by, in one case, 10.35 per cent and in the other by 15.30 per cent. Because clause 6.3(a) of the proposed (and actual) contract permitted a change up to five per cent to the “size of the Lot or any part of the Lot” it is argued that these changes made the actual Lot different from the proposed Lot as originally identified." Mirvac v. Beioley
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Tennyson Reach Clean Up
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Flood Clean Up Costs
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tennyson Reach Flooded
"Yesterday, as the smell in the luxury dwellings at Tennyson Reach, home to tennis greats including Ashley Cooper, rose with the temperature and humidity, owners wondered how the planning controls that were meant to regulate development could have gone so wrong.
Several said they were assured before buying that the ground level would not flood unless the Brisbane River reached a mark of 8.4m, well above the 4.46m at which it peaked last Thursday after a massive discharge of 645,000 megalitres from Wivenhoe Dam on Tuesday.
Between cleaning up and moving out yesterday, several owners said they needed explanations from Mirvac and the council about their true flood immunity and whether the development, completed less than two years ago, should have been approved, given its history of inundation.
The flooding at Tennyson Reach is one small part of a major problem for Brisbane City Council and the Queensland government, as the losses of owners, the liability of developers, and the policies of governments combine in a perfect storm of recrimination and confusion. The residential precinct went through all the council's usual approvals process after the Beattie government sought tenders to make something glorious from the site of the abandoned and obsolete power station.
Apartment owner Chrissie Buchanan, who bought in June 2009 with her husband, Sam, who is a quadriplegic, has had damaged floors, walls and cabinets. She said she was fortunate to have insurance and was in a lot better position than many in Brisbane.
"The things that have been damaged are easily replaced," Ms Buchanan said. "There are people who have lost their businesses and houses. I feel for people who are a lot worse off than ourselves."
She said flooding risk was "not an issue" that was canvassed when she and her husband bought the property. "You never believe it's going to happen to you," she said.
Keith George, who paid $2.25 million for his ground-floor apartment 18 months ago, said he had waist-level water throughout his property. As a result, he will have to rip up floors and carpets, rebuild walls, and most of the apartment's cabinets will have to be replaced. "I'm going to have to spend at least $100,000 to replace the cabinetry," he said. "We won't be back in here for months."
Mr George said the flood risk never came up when he was buying the property, partly because City Hall had approved the development.
"And I always believed the Wivenhoe would not let the Brisbane River come up," he said.
Another resident, Julie Savage, said most people living in the complex were not too concerned on Tuesday night when other parts of the city started to evacuate their homes.
"I got the impression everyone was relaxed because it could withstand a flood of 8.4m, so it would all be fine," she said.
It is not only residents on the ground floor who are affected, with those on the many levels above unable to return home because there is no power and no lifts working. "They were saying 12 weeks until they can return, but it might be eight," Mr George said.
...
Mirvac Development Queensland chief executive Matthew Wallace, who inspected the development yesterday, said the priority was to work with the body corporate to get the buildings reinstated, and "get peoples' lives and properties back together".
The flooding hit the apartments 12 hours before the peak in Brisbane of 4.46m. It is believed the body corporate does not have flood insurance.
Several owners who bought their apartments before the global financial crisis had looked for loopholes to litigate a way out of their contracts before settlement, but failed after filing actions in the District Court. The irony is that being misled over the level of their flood immunity might have provided a perfect exit.
After successfully defending itself against some residents' claims that it misrepresented the quality of the river views, as well as a host of technical legal arguments surrounding the contract documents, Mirvac said the original buyers had to meet, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars in default interest and associated costs."
Mirvac Group said its Waterfront Newstead development had experienced some basement flooding, while its Tennyson Reach building had basement and ground floor inundation.
Mirvac added that the Brisbane floods were having a limited impact on its residential projects.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
HiDef Aerial Photos of Brisbane 2011 Floods
Friday, January 14, 2011
Brisbane Floods
- Admiralty Towers
- Admiralty Two
- Admiralty Quays "we only had minor flooding in the lower level of the basement (about 50cm deep)"
- Riverplace
- Riparian (access tunnel to carparks - carparks are above ground level)
- Felix
- 212 Margaret
- Festival Towers
- River City
- Vue at Milton
- Water's Edge
- Flow
- SL8
- Parklands Sherwood
- Fresh Toowong
- Encore Toowong
- Arbour on Grey at South Bank
- Tennyson Reach
- Most apartments on the river at St Lucia
- the list goes on
Friday, December 24, 2010
2010 Brisbane Apartment Awards
- Mirvac's Tennyson Reach
- Niecon's The Oracle at Broadbeach
- Raptis' The Hilton Surfers Paradise
- Evolution.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Aerial Photos of Brisbane
Mirvac's Newstead Waterfront project
Mirvac's Tennyson project
Pradella's Water's Edge
Kelvin Grove Urban Village
(photos taken September 2010)
Saturday, December 4, 2010
More Losses
Friday, August 6, 2010
Mirvac's Hamilton Project
Listed real estate group Mirvac is set to continue its successful track record of quality residential development on Brisbane in-fill sites after the purchase of a prime 7,637-square-metre former Department of Primary Industry site at Hamilton.
Previous projects by Mirvac on classic in-fill sites in Brisbane include The Arbour On Grey (at South Bank), Quay West, Grosvenor, Waterline Bulimba, Park Hill Village, Mariner’s Reach, Cutters Landing and more recently Waterfront Newstead.
Mirvac’s Queensland CEO Matthew Wallace says the Hamilton site, located in Hercules Street, is six kilometres from the CBD and will likely accommodate more than 500 residences. Its end value will be around $300 million.
“We are very excited about the purchase of this site and while our planning is still in its initial stages at present we will be delivering a residential product that will broaden the price segments in which we operate,” he says. “The site is extremely well located and the same team that has delivered such projects as Cutters Landing, Tennyson Reach and more recently Waterfront Newstead will be behind the Hamilton development.
“The product will be affordable, it will be quality, it meets the State Government and city council’s planning goals of higher density in the CBD fringe and will be a prime example of contemporary urban design.” Wallace says the Hamilton development is a prime example of Mirvac’s national strategy to continually review and refine its product offering in line with demand and opportunities that arise.
...
Wallace says the Hamilton development will leverage off the established amenity within the immediate locale and it is proposed that the urban street environment will integrate with the existing Portside development.
The site is adjacent to the Portside Wharf development and cruise ship terminal, is approximately 500 metres to the City Cat, five minutes to the Gateway Motorway and 10 kilometres south of the Brisbane Airport.
The DPI has recently vacated the site.
“We are planning a range of innovative one and two bedroom product on the site and our research indicates that there will be significant demand for this product and this location,” he says.
“Our plan is to provide affordably priced, high-quality residences to a broad section of the marketplace and our team is excited about turning their minds to a new challenge.
...
Wallace says it is expected that approvals permitting, Mirvac will release the first of the residences at Hamilton next year.
See QBR
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Buyer Gets Out of Contract with Mirvac at Tennyson
Monday, May 3, 2010
Talking Up the Top End
Mr Johnston said the exclusive riverfront development at Tennyson Reach had exceeded everyone’s expectations in the current market. "The fact it’s sold so well in a market affected by the GFC is testament to the quality of the product and the prime location," he said.
The Tennyson Reach sales ranged up to $2.845 million for luxury apartments on the riverfront, located close to the new Tennyson Tennis Centre. Mr Johnson said that apart from families with old money, 2010 had seen the return of the investor – and they’re not all mum and dad investors with $600,000 to spend on a three-bed, one-bath inner-city renter.
An increasing number of multi-million dollar sales have been to investors, such as one riverfront apartment Mr Johnston sold for nearly $3 million last month. The investor is planning on renting the apartment out.
Ms Havig said foreign investors and expats were also present in the prestige market.
"They feel that the market is still going to rise considerably and want to get in before it does," she said."
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Mirvac's Park
The public release of Mirvac's Park is taking place today -- the same day that 3 apartments at Mirvac's Tennyson Reach are being auctioned due to failure of the buyers to purchase -- and where the off-the-plan contract price is now above market price.
One bedroom apartments from $495,000
Two bedroom apartments from $675,000
Three bedroom apartments from $975,000
Pavilions from $1.6 million"
See this post for a comparison of these prices with current market pricing. Before buying in Park, I would go to the auction of a 2 bed apartment in Mirvac's Quay West -- which is over 125sqm in size, park and river views, a better location, plus a pool (which Park does not have).