Work on Kyabram’s long awaited The Edge Estate started late last week and the first homes are expected to commence construction on the site by the middle of next year.
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The 210-lot development has encountered constant delays, pushing back any works on the site, since its change of ownership in December 2019.
Echuca-based developer Simon Eishold purchased the land two years ago from well known real estate mogul Bill O’Brien and has spent two years negotiating COVID restrictions to reach this stage of the project.
“Finally I can announce that our first couple of stages will roll out ASAP,” Mr Eishold said.
“Nothing brings me as much pleasure than being able to say that things are getting under way.”
Mr Eishold explained that the land had been purchased by Mr O’Brien 22 years ago, with his intention to develop it as a residential estate.
“Bill was a well regarded, and recognised, land developer that I watched, listened and learnt from,” Mr Eishold said.
“He had sat on that land for a period of time before I purchased the property.
“Once upon a time it was going to accommodate a new school site and this delayed Bill considerably.
“He was starting to do less development and approached me to buy the land — I looked at the site and sought to amend the permit to put together what I think is a superior development.”
Shepparton-based Mawson Constructions, which won the tender to complete the five stages of earthmoving works, was one of five companies invited to be part of the tendering process.
“We engage with local people as much as we can for all of our development works,” Mr Eishold said.
“Money goes around through the system and locals benefit. We invited five companies to tender, three were eventually involved and all were local tenderers.”
The Edge development has engaged Kyabram’s Walker Real Estate and McConnell First National Real Estate as its primary partners in the sale of the land.
Mr Eishold said Kyabram was in a unique position, located in between the regional centres of Shepparton and Echuca. He said Kyabram had always stood strongly by itself and had a lot to offer.
“The appeal and attraction of the size of Kyabram will value-add to people making up their own mind where to live.”
He explained that real estate experts had “got it wrong” with their predictions as to where the market would be in late 2021.
“We’ve been caught with our pants down,” Mr Eishold said.
“All of the market indicators that have been rolled out didn’t get anywhere near predicting what is happening today.”
According to national figures, the savings that people currently have in the bank are significant.
With people not being able to enjoy travel, and restricted in several other areas of spending, real estate has become extremely attractive.
“The Edge has been designed to be relevant to the fact that people in Kyabram, the whole region for that matter, love their homes, landscaping and greenery,” Mr Eishold said.
“I really wanted to provide them with something that is what they want and our diversity in lot sizes will appeal to one and all.”
Stage one of the project went on sale 12 months ago, the 22 lots selling out quickly, before the second stage of the project was launched.
Stage two is a 17-lot stage, but Mr Eishold said he expected even more interest in stage three.
“The third stage is 35 lots and 70 per cent of those are 900 square metres or larger,” he said.
While ecstatic to be at this point of the development, the delay to the project has obviously been wearing on the respected business and sporting identity.
“Sadly, we are all caught in COVID,” he said.
“COVID has exacerbated the delay, along with the hold-ups we have encountered with the varying statutory authorities.
‘We’ve just had to sit back and wait. It’s part of the problem for this type of development.“
Mr Eishold said it was almost two years to the day that he bought the land and prior to the demolition of all former buildings, a general site clean-up and last week’s clearing of trees, not a single sod had been turned.
“There have been some issues with Goulburn Valley Water, Campaspe Shire, Regional Roads, Gascor and Powercor, among others.
“Until I can gain all of their approvals I am unable to move.
“Then throw COVID into the mix and it was a recipe for a much longer waiting time than anyone would have wanted, or imagined.”
Mr Eishold said the planning amendment of land had been completed in a timely manner, but securing the necessary follow-on and statutory approvals had meant that projects such as The Edge were forced to push back their start date.
He explained that an approach to a government department responsible for allowing development projects for residential properties to be fast-tracked had been unsuccessful early on in the planning process.
“The department that was responsible for fast-tracking developments to the shovel-ready stage refused our advances,” Mr Eishold said.
“Unfortunately we were told we did not qualify, as they believed our project had all approvals in place.
“With their assistance I would have had a shovel in the ground 12 months ago. That would have seen the development now entering into its fourth or even fifth stage.
“That didn’t happen and I haven’t been able to move the relevant authorities we are working with to supply their approval services to the development any quicker.
“It’s just the process of a land developer.”
He said the holding cost associated with any development today was now becoming the greatest expense to bear.
“For much of the last two years I’ve been sitting and waiting to get approvals from all bodies – not just one,” Mr Eishold said.
“COVID has removed the ability to work face to face, to action items to be addressed and get things rolling along. All of these service providers are in huge demand, there is a real skill shortage and most offices are under resourced and staffed.”
Mr Eishold said stage one of the project would see a construction program taking 20 to 26 weeks.
“We can’t physically move that any quicker than that,” he said.
“There are more sign-offs to be completed as we conclude each stage.
“I want housing to be started ASAP. I’d like to think the first house would be on site in mid-2022.”
Seventy per cent of the stage two release has been sold and now the pressure is on Mr Eishold and his team to deliver titles.
More land is coming, with design approvals now being sought for stages four and five of The Edge.
Mr Eishold is predicting stage three will create even greater demand, as the lot sizes are larger, satisfying a demand he says is “extremely high” in regional Victoria.
The average block cost for stage three of the project is expected to be in the $180,000-plus range, making it well under the figures currently being paid for similar parcels of land in Shepparton, Echuca and Moama.
Mr Eishold said seeing this project through would give him a lot of satisfaction, from a community point of view.
“This region has been very good to me and supportive to my family — I want to see it prosper further,” he said.
“It is a great place to live and offers a broad array of opportunities for schooling, employment and retirement.
“I remain very confident that the town will love the development and what is to be provided and the lot sizing on offer.
“We can no longer live and say ‘my income comes from a dairy farm’. The town, and the area, have changed from its traditional base — and quite successfully.
“Kyabram has now broadened its stand-alone appeal as a place to live.”
Mr Eishold did warn of impending challenges for land developers with the government’s new windfall gains tax becoming law in October.
The rezoning tax will mean developers that buy rural or primary production-zoned land and have it rezoned to residential will be required to pay tax on the uplift in value.
“If your land was worth a dollar and after its rezoning the value goes to $5 there will be a windfall tax payment of 50 per cent of the increase in the value,” he said.
This will see some changes, certainly in regards to the cost to buy and develop.
But for now Mr Eishold can afford to take a slight breath and enjoy his Christmas knowing that two years of meetings, delays and investment could soon reap the rewards as The Edge estate’s first building starts mid next year.
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