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Townhouse
building units or just a renovation...
...Where and How You May Start. Development tips
Townhouse
buildings, units and an extension renovation. The type of briefs and
areas that would offer you a flying start in a changing market. If your
focus is context content - you are one step ahead of the game. Consider
choosing a land context similar to these before filling them with
your own content of course.
Start
simple
- Start
with a simple development. There are so many
things to check on as the project progresses, the simpler you start
the better you control the outcome. Avoid the temptation of
jumping
into something difficult first up. Choose
an easy municipality (council, shire) or an easy brief or both.
The Bentleigh project
was a good example for such context content.
- If your land is large enough to start out with three units
(and/or it sits in a difficult area), you might want to make them
in stages. With planning there are always surprises, but this way could
keep them manageable.
Double
storey caveat
- Double storey is more expensive to build and getting
pricier. Even so, building two
or more double storey towhnouses is probably the game of
the builder developer. Why? Because he/she control costs by
increasing the
amount of his/her own
labour.
- But if I had a land
large enough for three
townhouses, I would seriously think of making at least one double storey.
That way I could barter it for the price of the construction. Why you
ask? In my experience
building costs always go up and up, never down. But with a barter I'd
rest
easy about costs no matter when I build.
Extension
/ Renovation Tip
- Is it is your first
extension /
renovation? If the answer is yes, avoid needless
bells and whistles.
The name of the game is
practicality and functionality. Even though a designer might
want your extension to stand out, it can also very easily look like an
afterthought.
The conservative way of the market (and this will serve you
well at any
time) is seamless interfacing between old and new. In other
words, the whole bulding should look as one with internal - and
external
-
places as practical and cost effective as possible.
Townhouses
and multi units
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Many of
these unit
projects helped
first time developers who were home and land owners just like you to
start out on there own. Some did it with a builder, some as
an owner developer. One client bartered a unit for the contrution
costs.
To see you starting off is a big step, so we are really proud of
these projects. |
HOW TO PICK LAND FOR THREE
TOWHNOUSE DEVELOPMENT
If you want to build
three townhouse buildings, the area should have quite a
few long and
narrow lots. Adjacency to a light-industrial subdivision where lots are
naturally deeper could mean just that. We had this in the City of Whitehorse,
but I am sure you know such an area in your own neighbourhood.
WHITEHORSE: This 3 townhouse
building development was
achieved where others already had given up. The
strict
requirement at the
time was 400m2 per unit but the land was less than that - 900m2 all up.
We swinged
into action working on the council as well as the brief. In the end,
the owner had single handedly springboarded into becoming a developer
from previously owning a small strip shop.
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MAKE AWKWARD LOTS WORK HARD FOR
YOU
Awkward orientation or unusual land shape are not always bad news.
These
context factors can work in your favour when negotiating the sales
price.
MULGRAVE: This is the kind of
brief is probably more suited to a builder-developer who can keep down
construction costs by saving on labour. Anyway, our proposal got
council's
straight nod even though both buildings were obviously double storey and the land had a
very awkward orientation. The new owner who added the
fitout had
also become our client. (She rang us just to tell how she
loved these townhouse buildings.) Something to do wiht her
finding tenants too easy ... ?
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| START OUT SIMPLE |
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CHADSTONE:
3
Units in 2 stages. The owner of the land had an idea to have
3 units on his corner block. At first it seemed impossible, but we staged the project
to help the council come around. The process was made
harder with authorities "triangulating" out a sizable chunk from
the land labelled right
of way. What can we say. First the back unit was sold, then the middle
then the front.
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BENTLEIGH:
Fast
track development. The speed was express need for the
developer. Early design development achieved better than expected
arrangement. The area is not quite up market, so we aimed at a toned
down design. Council was supportive, and after specified and built, the
units were snapped up very quickly too.
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Extension
and Renovation - Tips and Plan
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FAIRFIELD:
We really enjoyed
coming to this area. The owners were growing wine on the side, so some
extra
cellar was needed as part of the brief. We also needed to renovate and
extend while also reusing as much of the preloved stuff as was
possible. In the owners' word: "It is an extension so
transparently interfacing the existing house, you don't know which is
which." They seem to enjoy every nook and corner. (The photo is quite
old, sorry, but they have landscaped the garden since.)
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