THE transformation of the inner city land corridor made vacant by the construction of the Graham Farmer Freeway tunnel has been awarded with the top prize at the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s annual awards.
The East Perth Development Authority received the President’s award and also won the urban renewal category for its New Northbridge project, which has provided dwellings for 1,250 new inner city residents.
In the judge’s category, the Department of Housing and construction firm JAXON received the prize for their South Hedland New Living urban renewal project.
And in the third major category, developer Saracen Properties and planner Roberts Day were awarded the Rising Star award for its Birchfield Village development at Vasse Newtown, near Busselton.
The Birchfield Village site was formerly degraded farmland and Saracen was commended for incorporating boulevards and town squares and celebrating local heritage linkage.
In other categories, the UDIA’s master planned development award was awarded to Port Bouvard for its Port Bouvard Estate near Mandurah.
The judges said the Port Bouvard Estate demonstrated adaptation to changing circumstances over two decades and a commitment to environmental excellence made evident by the remediation of degraded foreshore areas.
Other finalists in the master planned development section were the City of Cockburn and LandCorp joint venture Harvest Lakes; the Department of Housing and PRM Property Group’s Mevé at Beeliar; and Dunsborough Lakes Estate by Aspen Living.
Other category winners were Satterley Property Group, for environmental excellence at its Heron Park subdivision; Mirvac, for its Aurora, The Peninsula Burswood in the high density development section; Australian Property Alliance for affordable development at The Niche Armadale; and Stockland, for its Vertu Private Estate, in the urban water category.
For medium density development, LandCorp and Alcock Brown-Neaves Group took home the prize for their Harvest Edge development; Churchlands Green by Edith Cowan University was the winner for residential development under 250 lots; and Capricorn Yanchep, by the Capricorn Village joint venture won the sustainable urban development category.
A new category was added to this year’s awards, with Bethanie Group taking home the top gong in the Seniors Living section, for its Bethanie Fields Estate in Eaton, just north of Bunbury.
UDIA chief executive Debra Goostrey said the range of projects among the winners and finalists represented the depth and diversity of the WA property sector.
“From high density apartment living to regional projects and everything in between, this year’s awards have showcased the different product that is available in the market today,” Ms Goostrey said in a statement.
“WA is truly leading the way when it comes to ensuring that different lifestyles are catered for.”
