J Thistleton
Canberra development and management company Hindmarsh is to build a retirement village and separate Defence housing site worth $60 million at Bruce over the next three years, creating 125 jobs and attracting investment from China.
Half of the site, on Hayden Drive, will be devoted to 52 new four-bedroom homes for Defence Housing which plans 500 new residences in the region in readiness for the $300 million Defence Headquarters, due to open at Bungendore in 2008.
Hindmarsh's managing director, John Hindmarsh, said an 85-unit retirement village worth $25 million would be developed on the 27ha site.
Surrounding a common community facility which will include a swimming pool, gymnasium, hairdresser, nursing office and lounge and dining facilities will be three or four buildings of four or five storeys. Design work is still being completed. The buildings will comprise 36 serviced apartments and 60 self-care units. In the one-bedroom and kitchenette serviced apartment, residents will receive three meals daily and have access to 24-hour support staff, including nursing.
The 60 self-care units will be one, two or three bedrooms and will have access to the serviced-care facilities.
A Shanghai-based investor, Weijing Jin, is a partner in the retirement village. Mr Hindmarsh, who announced last week his company's expansion into Shanghai and Beijing to capitalise on China's burgeoning car-park market, is keen to follow up retirement opportunities overseas and attract more Chinese investment into Canberra as well.
At the Bruce project, which will take three years to complete, a three-storey commercial office building with the latest green technology will be developed, but Mr Hindmarsh could not reveal the tenant, who would become a part-owner.
He said both Defence personnel and retirement residents would find the location ideal because it was close to the Canberra Institute of Technology, Radford College, University of Canberra, Calvary Hospital and retailing. He would develop an additional retail site there as well.
The Hindmarsh company would do all the housing subdivision work and was yet to finalise who would build the Defence Housing.
Most homes would be offered for sale to investors.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence Teresa Gambaro said the scheme gave "mum and dad" investors a secure investment in Canberra's property market with guaranteed rental incomes over nine years and sometimes up to 12 years.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, the Hon. Teresa Gambaro MP, today announced the purchase of undeveloped land in the suburb of Bruce, ACT by the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) at a cost of $6.2 million.
DHA will build 52 ‘family friendly’ homes in this highly sought after suburb in Canberra, providing much needed high quality housing for Australian Defence Force members in the region.
"The purchase of this land in Bruce is a significant opportunity for the Defence Housing Authority, which will be able to provide homes for 52 Defence Force families in a very well located area that is close to schools, the Canberra University, a major shopping centre and only 8kms from the central business district," Ms Gambaro said.
"DHA plans to build over 500 homes in the Canberra region over the next three years to meet the demand of housing Defence members and their families posted to the Head Quarters Joint Operations Command at Bungendore," she said.
The acquisition is in addition to land being purchased under an agreement with the ACT Land Development Agency, involving the purchase of 350 serviced blocks in Canberra to DHA over the next three years.
DHA purchased the Bruce land from Canberra City Developments (a subsidiary of Hindmarsh) which have plans to further develop the site including incorporation of a residential aged care facility.
"We are looking forward to working with the Defence Housing Authority in the development of the site," Hindmarsh Managing Director, John Hindmarsh said.
Development of the site will commence immediately, with local building contractors to take on an estimated $16 million worth of work.
"The men and women of the Australian Defence Force are doing an excellent job, and with the increasing pressures on their families during this operational period it is pleasing to see the high level of commitment and support that DHA is providing," Ms Gambaro said.
Most of the houses will be made available for purchase under the Defence Housing Authority’s sale and lease back scheme, providing an opportunity for the general public to invest in the Canberra residential property market with the security of long term leases and guaranteed rental income.
DHA currently manages over 1,800 homes in the Canberra region, and 30 homes in the Bruce area.
More information about the sale and leaseback scheme is available at www.invest.dha.gov.au or by calling 1800 813 621.
Hindmarsh, the construction, development and investment group, has announced plans to expand its operations in China with new offices in Shanghai and Beijing.
Managing Director John Hindmarsh said the company had entered into a joint venture with Kingdy Parking Company Ltd, Beijing’s only private carparking operator. Kingdy currently has 30,000 car spaces under management.
The development of 1,000 underground car spaces for Beijing’s National Grand Theatre project in Tiananmen Square is now underway and the company will begin management shortly of another 10,000 underground spaces designed to service the city’s ICT precinct.
Mr Hindmarsh said the joint venture would also pursue opportunities in related areas such as mechanised parking, consulting and development, motor vehicle services and staff training.
“We plan to develop a vertically integrated operation in China which takes advantage of our experience in carpark construction and management,” Mr Hindmarsh said.
Hindmarsh is a privately-owned Canberra-based company which operates more than 20 carparks (7,000 spaces) in Adelaide, Melbourne and the ACT through its wholly-owned subsidiary EziPark. It has a further 800 spaces under construction in Adelaide in the first stage of its $130 million Flinders Link project.
“In addition to the joint venture in Beijing, we’ll be pursuing other business opportunities through Hindmarsh’s new representation office in Shanghai.”
“We currently import a range of building materials from China – granite, glass and stainless steel – and we’ll be looking to expand that business.”
“However, we are also examining a number of development projects in Shanghai including retirement accommodation, carparking and retail development to take advantage of our background in construction and development,” Mr Hindmarsh said.
Contact: Laurie Wilson 0419 295 499, Belinda Wise 02 6247 4999
Scott Hannaford
Canberra development and management company Hindmarsh has begun a push into the Chinese car-parking industry.
The company announced yesterday it would open offices in Shanghai and Beijing and flagged plans to invest millions into the Chinese market over the coming years.
Managing Director John Hindmarsh also launched yesterday the company's new branding and its sponsorship fo the Bill Viola The Passions exhibition at the National Gallery.
He said the company had recently taken a 40 percent stake in a joint venture with car-park company Kingdy, China's only private car-park operator, which now controls about 6 percent of the car spaces in the market.
Mr Hindmarsh said the car-park market was growing by about 35 to 40 percent in Chinas as the country continued to grow rapidly and Hindmarsh had formed crucial business relationships which would see it take up a significant interest in the sector in the coming years.
Within five years, he hoped the company would control about 250,000 spaces in five cities.
"Beijing has 500,000 spaces alone. We see our potential market share there as very important. The number of cars entering the market over there is something like four million a year", he said.
While the company was making significant investments in developing its Chinese interests, he said he was also keen to create opportunities for other ACT businesses looking to enter the Chinese market.
"We are hoping to be able to build bridges between Canberra and China and there are a number of areas where we can cooperate. We've been able to build on our sister city relationship, which carries great weight in China".
Hindmarsh would be making some of its office space available to Canberra businesses in an effort to help them gain a foothold.
The company has taken on full-time Chinese staff to work between the two countries, establishing networks and business relationships.
With Canberra holding the seat of government and boasting internationally recognised institutions such as the Australian National University, it was well regarded as an important link to Australia for many in the Chinese business community.
While car parking would be a significant focus for Hindmarsh in its initial Chinese ventures, the company was also looking at entering the growing retirement accommodation sector and had various possible projects under consideration, including a stake in an underground retail and parking development.
Mr Hindmarsh said while the strong state control in China remained a concern for overseas companies, he was confident in the future of the business opportunities presenting themselves.
The Canberra Business Council has also formed a register of ACT businesses interested in breaking into the Chinese market and already 300 companies have registered for further information.
Business Council Executive Director John Miller said moves such as that being made by Hindmarsh were extremely important for opening doors for other ACT exporters.
"There is a lot going on in China and we think we need to be part of it", he said.