Award accelerates foot traffic and international applause
In June, East Village in Sydney’s Zetland picked up the property industry’s top honour for mixed use buildings, and since then foot traffic has accelerated, says PAYCE’s corporate affairs manager Maria Scott.
PAYCE picked up the GHD Woodhead Award for Best Mixed Use Development at the Property Council of Australia / Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation and Excellence Awards, with the judges applauding the project as a lesson in harmonising retail and residential design.
Property Council chief executive Ken Morrison says East Village supplies “long-awaited retailing to the precinct, and demonstrates why mixed-use buildings can help us build more liveable cities.”
The development, featuring 206 apartments and more than speciality shops, is now attracting more than six million visitors each year.
Scott says the benefits of winning an award “as highly recognised” as the Property Council’s have been far-reaching.
“While many of the benefits of such a prestigious award are hard to measure, foot traffic is a good indicator, and that’s increasing month-on-month. The centre is doing very well,” she says.
“East Village has been profiled in a number of magazines recently, and we think that’s because being named the Best Mixed Use Development in Australia has elevated it onto an international stage.”
The team-building opportunity has also been valuable.
“Our entire team is passionate about the development, and to have an industry body like the Property Council recognise East Village was a huge boost for everyone from the sub-contractors to the retailers and the Mirvac Group, which acquired a per cent interest in East Village in July,” she says.
“This was our first big commercial development, and to gain a win has delivered many unexpected benefits. It resonates in the commercial arena with people like financiers – and that’s something that we’d not expected, but are now well aware of,” Scott adds.
Next year, a record 19 categories, plus the Rider Levett Bucknall Australian Development of the Year, will be awarded. The Award for Diversity will be split into two categories, based on the number of employees within the nominating organisation.
The Award for Best Mixed Use has also changed, with developments eligible when they can demonstrate two substantive building uses, rather than the three required in previous years.
Submitting a nomination for the national awards provides automatic entry into the State Development of the Year, with the exception of the Future Leader of the Year, Diversity and Innovation award categories.
For the first time, the State Development of the Year will be celebrated at a cocktail party in every major city in the lead-up to the national gala dinner at one of Sydney’s newest venues, the International Convention Centre on Friday 5 May 2017.
Nominations are open until 30 November. Check out the hints and tips to help you get started with your nomination.