THIS EDITION - JULY 07

Tennyson Riverside Development
The first event in the Future Directions series for 2007 served up an interesting topic that has been highly anticipated over the last couple of years. The redevelopment of one of Brisbane’s most iconic riverfront site will see the Mirvac Group work closely with the Queensland Government to deliver a state-of-the-art mixed use development providing a tennis centre, parklands, residential and more.

Presentations from Georgina Mott, Development Manager Mirvac and Richard Rizzalli, Design Director HPA Architects provided an overview of the four stages of the development. The development, boasting a north-east aspect, will include trademark high quality Mirvac features as evidenced by the model that was on display.

Comments from the audience were positive. Keen tennis player Matthew Edwards of Jones Lang LaSalle had this to say:
“Since the demolition of the Milton Tennis Centre, the Queensland tennis community has been homeless. This project will give us a top class home and ensure the future development of the game in this region. I am very excited!”

Judging by the feedback it was game, set and match to Future Directions! Click here for pics



Northshore Hamilton
Thursday the 26th April saw The Queensland Rugby Club Downtown play host to a record attendance of over 220 young property professionals - a sell out for the second Future Directions event for 2007. The enthused audience listened to Bevan Lynch – Executive Chairman, ML Design, David McLachlan – Councillor Hamilton Ward, and Jenny Ryan – Acting General Manger - Northshore Development, Port of Brisbane Corporation speak about the Hamilton Northshore development which is located between Kingsford Smith Drive and the Brisbane River, east of the Portside Wharf and cruise ship terminal development.

The proposal will see a mixed use development that will focus on the Brisbane River and once complete, will provide public access to two kilometers of formerly inaccessible waterfront, public parkland connected with bikeways, pathways and boardwalks, retail and commercial space and a variety of housing styles. The development is bound by Kingsford Smith Drive, The Brisbane River, Portside Wharf and the Royal Queensland Golf Club and is within eight kilometers of Brisbane’s CBD. The crowd were not disappointed and all in all experienced an excellent presentation. This project is sure to attract keen public and investor interest throughout its stages of development. Click here for Northshore Hamilton pics



Newstead Riverpark
Continuing the trend of 2007, this event showcased another high profile development that is very much in the public eye. The development of the former Boral gasworks and the Brisbane City Council depot site, which has long been considered an eyesore at the entrance to the city, will be transformed into a world class mixed-use community.

Ben Pritchard, Manager Urban Renewal highlighted the Council’s proactive attitude towards working with developers for the greater benefit of Brisbane city and its community. Peter Rossi, Project Director FKP informed another large crowd of young professionals that this development will effectively become a suburb within a suburb and on completion will provide a vibrant retail precinct, residential apartments and A-grade office accommodation set amongst 5 hectares of open parkland.

Patrick Lane-Mullins of Herron Todd White Brisbane Commercial is a regular at the Future Directions events. Patrick had this comment to make:
“I look forward to Future Directions functions as they are both informative and entertaining. The topics are always relevant and provide terrific insight to some of the major developments underway and hot topics within our industry.”



PCA and FD’s Day at the Races
It was a wild and windy winter day which greeted 80 Property Industry Race Goes for the Annual PCA FD 'Day out at the Races'. Feathers were flying, heels were sinking in the grass and aviator sunglasses were the look for the day. Many race goers tried their luck with the bookies, but all in all most enjoy the thrill of the thoroughbred's galloping past our tent with whips cracking and hoofs thumping.

Attendees were served a fantastic seafood buffet, and everyone enjoyed sipping the cool beverages from the Arkhefield sponsored bar. Stand out performances from the ladies saw the 'fashion in the field' competition a close affair with a matching ensemble taking out first place. Many thanks must go to Keryn Osgerby again for her tireless efforts in making the day run smoothly and all the rest of the PCA staff for helping out with the day's proceedings.

Next year’s event will be a surprise format and the FD committee encourages all Young Property Professionals to attend the new look event. Click here for the Day at the Races pics



Market Review
The final Future Directions presentation for the 2006/2007 financial year is traditionally the Market Review. It is always highly anticipated and this time around the response was no different – a sell out crowd at the Rugby Club.

This year’s speakers included Matthew Gross of National Property Research, Geoff McIntyre of Jones Lang LaSalle and Peter Roberts of Landmark White.

Matthew Gross commented on the residential sector and was upbeat in his summation indicating that on the back of the current strong economy he sees no signs of this sector slowing in the short to medium term. Regional centres up the east coast of Queensland also received good reviews on the back of the strong Queensland economy and mining boom but the news for first home buyer was not so great with the issue of housing affordability continuing to be a major factor.

Geoff McIntyre confirmed the rumours that the Brisbane office market is experiencing the lowest vacancy on record dropping to a staggering 0.6%. He was positive in his outlook for the future of this sector seeing no signs of the bubble bursting in the short term due to the fact that the majority of planned developments and those under construction are already heavily pre-committed.

Peter Roberts spoke on the industrial market and like the other panellists had a very positive feel to his observations. Yields for investment properties are reaching unprecedented lows due to a shortage of stock and developable land. Areas such as the TradeCoast including the Port of Brisbane and the south-western corridor were highlighted as regions attracting strong interest from owner-occupiers and investors alike.

All in all, it is fair to say that the future of our property market in general is looking bright.
Click here for Market Review pics


We thank everyone for their support at our functions in the first half of 2007 and hope that we can continue to deliver the hottest and most popular topics leading into Christmas.


View the last edition of FD E-news here