New Development Projects Will Improve Eastern Hub of Perth

According to property analysts, the eastern hub of the Central Business District of Perth will become a location that is just as attractive as the western end of town. Until now property analysts have said that the eastern hub has been buoyed by projects such as the new Condor tower and the Equus serviced apartments that are housed in the former Cinema City site.

The development would be targeted toward the area located at the end of Terrace east of William Street and also east of Barrack Street to make the eastern section of town into a hub. Property analysts feel that the new precinct holds a lot of potential of potential for growth due to the fact that a substantial number of serviced offices would be a significant portion of the project. This would mean a lot of people would be coming to the city to work and will choose to live there as well.

The project would include Equus, a $280 million project at the east of the Hay Street mall that would house serviced offices, serviced apartments, and retail facilities in the 26-floor complex that consists of three buildings that are connected together and have their own elevators and lobby. Construction on this complex has started and is expected to be complete by April of 2011.
Eighty percent of the serviced apartments have been sold and seventy percent of the commercial and serviced office space has also been sold. Marketing of the ground floor retail facility which will include cafes and boutiques will begin about 15 months prior to project completion. The ground floor retail facility will stretch from Hay to Murray Street.

The development will have resort style facilities that include a pool and gym and the commercial serviced office suites will total 8000 square metres of space. The Condor Tower will be completed early this year and will provide 24 floors of serviced apartments offering 152 units, two retail outlets, six commercial offices and 48 car bays.

Condor Court will be a six-floor building that will offer 30 serviced apartment units, four shops, and 12 commercial suites, and will include a gymnasium and a pool. The property is being developed by Condor Development Ltd.

Royale which is located near Hay Street will be a large residential project offering 193 serviced apartments and four commercial office suites. The building is nine stories high and includes two pools, sauna, spa, and gym which are built on the former RAC site.

There are several additional complexes on the site that will be constructed for serviced office space, serviced apartments, and additional commercial and retail space. The building includes the Treasury Building, Town Hall, Durack, Central Law Courts, Cathedral Square, and the Saint.

Pioneer Sands Serviced Apartments to Be Completed by End of 2009

According to developers at the Wollongong-based Complete Development Consultancy, the Pioneer Sands serviced apartment project will be completed by November of 2009. The development is a $45 million dollar project in Towradgi with the management rights being sold before completion of the project.

The Pioneer Sands serviced apartments will offer 46 residential units and 42 serviced apartments with commercial establishments planned for the ground floor. The new serviced apartment property is located on the site of the old Leisure Coast Motel on Carters Lane behind the Towradgi Beach Hotel.

The management rights to the serviced apartment property are being sold before the completion of the project to allow an incoming operator to get a head start on establishing the business and building it accordingly. The management rights to the serviced apartments are currently being offered by Jim Chapman of Resort Brokers Australia for $1.3 million. The details of the management right package will include leasing agreements to the 42-unit fully furnished four-star serviced apartments on a 25-year term.

The Pioneer Sands serviced apartments are situated in Towradgi which is a coastal area flanked by bushland and white sandy beaches. Tenants have easy access to boutique shops, transportation, university, and sporting fields. The serviced apartment property is only five minutes from the center of Wollongong and within a one hour drive to Sydney airport.

The Pioneer Sands serviced apartments are also within five minutes of the Wollongong Serviced Apartments which are located in the center of the Wollongong Central Business District. The Wollongong Serviced Apartments offer 21 one and two-bedroom 4.5 star serviced apartments fully equipped with kitchen and laundry facilities as well as underground security parking. They are designed for business travelers or leisurely short term stays.

The Wollongong Serviced Apartments are also within close proximity to the beaches, a golf course, the primary entertainment venue, restaurants, and cafes, and it is within one hour from the Sydney airport. Nearby are also a cinema and theatre, coach station, galleries, museums, hospital, post office, public transport, railway station, shopping centre, shops, swimming pool, taxi rank, tennis court, university, and visitor information centre.

Wollongong Serviced Apartments received the Illawarra Tourism Award for best accommodation facility in the Illawarra and the Intergral Energy Business Award for Excellence in Tourism.
You can find more information on serviced apartment accommodations in Australia by logging onto Move and Stay at www.moveandstay.com.au.

Quest Expands Serviced Apartment Portfolio with New Locations

Quest, a major Australian-based serviced apartment provider, has announced the opening of two new serviced apartment properties in New Plymouth and Carlaw Park Auckland. The addition of the properties to Quest’s portfolio will make a total of 27 Quest serviced apartment properties in New Zealand from Invercargill to Auckland.

Quest New Plymouth will provide leisure and business travelers with a flexible lifestyle and a value exceeding that of traditional hotel accommodations. The new serviced apartment property is situated within a central location in the inner part of the city and provides access to seaside views, shopping, and a wide variety of restaurants.

The city of Plymouth serves many sectors which include oil exploration, business services, and tourism during the summer months.

Quest Carlaw Park is located in the heart of Auckland in the central business district part of the city. The new serviced apartment property will provide state-of-the-art accommodations for the local business park corporate clientele, a nearby tennis complex and domain, and easy access to the motorways complex.

Quest New Plymouth and Quest Carlaw Park are part of the company’s mission to expand to provincial locations and to meet the increasing demand in New Zealand for serviced apartments. Quest Carlaw Park will add to the company’s portfolio of ten serviced apartment locations in Auckland and provide cost effective alternatives for corporate and leisure travelers seeking a more flexible lifestyle not offer with conventional hotel accommodations.

Quest was established twenty years ago and became the largest operator in the serviced apartment industry in Australia and renowned for offering an innovative accommodation solution for corporate travelers. The company’s portfolio expands across Australia and New Zealand with serviced apartment properties known for state-of-the-art facilities, comfort, and convenience.

Quest currently has over 120 serviced apartment properties in prime locations across Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji with additional properties planned for 2009.

For additional information on accommodations in Australia, log onto Move and Stay at www.moveandstay.com.au .

Quest Opens Serviced Apartments in Sydney

Quest Serviced Apartments will open a prime Central Business District four and a half star property in the heart of Sydney next week. The Quest World Square in Haymarket will offer 72 serviced apartments in eight floors of the Aspect residential tower which is located on Cunningham Street.

Quest launches the new project as an economic boost to an area which is currently undergoing transformation. The serviced apartment property is located right in the center of the World Square retail market and the property will also help to establish a lifestyle precinct at the southern end of the Central Business District in Sydney.

Quest World Square serviced apartments will provide fully-equipped and contemporary styled units that range from two-bedroom with twin key to one bedroom and studios. Amenities will include breakfast packs and select restaurant charge-backs, as well as business administration services, pantry shopping, valet dry cleaning, access to a swimming pool and gymnasium.

Quest World Square Serviced Apartments is also located within close proximity to a wide range of amenities that include Chinatown, the Entertainment Centre, Market City, Darling Harbour, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hyde Park, the Central Railway Station, as well as access to a wide variety of restaurants and entertainment. The Central Business District contains major department stores, fashion boutiques, the Queen Victoria Building shopping complex, and Surry Hills that provides cafes, bars, and restaurants. Public transport links are available to virtually every other Sydney location from nearby George Street.

Quest has taken advantage of the demand for serviced apartments in Sydney by fulfilling the needs of the corporate traveler. Reservations for Quest World Square are already looking promising and can be obtained from Move and Stay at www.moveandstay.com .

Quest chooses new serviced apartment locations on the basis of existing and emerging corporate demand for housing. Quest World Square will fulfill the needs of domestic as well as international clients in Australia’s busiest capital city.

Quest is Australia’s largest and most successful serviced apartment operator with more than 120 serviced apartment complexes located across Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. Quest World Square is 120th in the company portfolio.

For more information, contact Move and Stay at www.moveandstay.com .

Ascott Wins Three Awards for Serviced Apartment Properties in Melbourne

The Ascott Group recently won three awards from the Hotel, Motel and Accommodation Association (HMAA) of Victoria Awards for Excellence for its Somerset serviced apartment residences.

The Ascott Group’s Somerset serviced apartment properties and staff members were recognized with the following awards: New Tourism Development Accommodation Award for Somerset Gordon Heights Serviced Apartments, Outstanding Contribution by an Industry Newcomer Award for Ms. Virginia Le, Guest Service Officer for Somerset Gordon Place/Somerset Gordon Heights, and Outstanding Contribution to Back of House Award for Mr. Tak Lo, Maintenance Supervisor for Somerset Gordon Place/Somerset Gordon Heights.

The Hotel, Motel and Accommodation Association (HMAA) is currently in its ninth year of offering the Awards for Excellence which recognizes the contributions by businesses as well as individuals to the accommodation industry. During this event, more than 200 prominent figures from the Australian tourism and hospitality industry were also present.

The serviced apartment properties provided by the Ascott Group have continually performed well in providing award winning services and high-end products with unit occupancy of over 80 percent at the Australia properties. Revenue for serviced apartment units has increased by 7 percent per year as of July 2008. Somerset Gordon Heights has been recognized as an accommodation of excellence in its first year of operation.

Somerset Gordon Heights offers 43 serviced apartment units, ranging from studio, one and two bedroom units to two-bedroom penthouses. Each unit is designed with ample space for comfortable dining, entertaining and living. Somerset Gordon Heights is located within close proximity to the Parliament train station. It is also within walking distance to many shopping, entertainment and cultural attractions like the Bourke Street Mall, Princess Theatre and Her Majesty's Theatre, State Houses of Parliament, Melbourne Museum and Melbourne Fine Art Gallery.

Somerset Gordon Place offers 64 warm and stylish home-style serviced apartment residences. It provides modern facilities and services while retaining the building's historic charm. The building is listed by the National Trust as one of the cultural and historical heritage buildings to be preserved. Somerset Gordon Place offers studio, one and two-bedroom layouts. Located within Melbourne's Central Business District, Somerset Gordon Place is a short walk to Bourke Street, Chinatown and Melbourne Central malls.

Ascott currently has seven serviced apartment properties in Australia, in Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The company’s largest property in Australia, Citadines Melbourne on Bourke, is due to open in 2010.

Move and Stay has further information on space availability and Melbourne accommodations at http://www.moveandstay.com/ .

Rein company to be de-registered 'soon'

June 26, 2008 - 6:53PM
Advertisement

Therese Rein's company Invisage will formally cease to exist next month, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has told parliamentary officials.

Mr Rudd added Invisage, a subsidiary of the prime minister's wife's Ingeus Ltd job placement network, to his statement of registrable interests on May 13.

Mr Rudd had earlier neglected to declare the company on the register of members' interests, which is meant to list all financial interests of politicians and their spouses.

He updated the record on budget day, saying: "I am advised this company is inactive and will be formally deregistered before 30 June 2008."

The latest register was tabled in parliament on Thursday, providing a glimpse into the private lives of politicians.

Mr Rudd added on his wife's behalf a line of credit from the Commonwealth Bank and a margin loan from CommSec, both for unspecified amounts, an upgrade from economy to business class on a Sydney-Brisbane Qantas flight on May 7, and patronage of three organisations.

Mr Rudd was given free membership of the Qantas Chairman's Lounge and a Virgin Blue Velocity Gold membership, art and a book from artist David Hart, and a set of cufflinks from the International CEO Forum.

He surrendered the art, book and cufflinks to his department.

Millionaire MP Malcolm Turnbull and his wife Lucy added three investment properties in Potts Point to their portfolio.

Former treasurer Peter Costello recently received a free Foxtel installation in his electorate office, half a dozen bottles of Grange Hermitage from serviced apartment company Servcorp and a Kreepy Krawley pool cleaner from Sherwood Overseas Company.

Former union boss Greg Combet has bought a Canberra home and his wife Petra has sold an investment property in Melbourne.

Several politicians declared international travel variously sponsored by groups like the Australian Political Exchange, a company called Blue Oar and the Taiwanese government.

Mr Combet, Trade Minister Simon Crean and Environment Minister Peter Garrett have resigned as directors of the Chifley Research Centre, a Labor Party policy think-tank.

Mr Garrett also received a $300 tie from his French counterpart.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her partner Tim Matheson attended the Australian Formula One grand prix as guests of Panasonic Toyota Racing, while Liberal backbencher Alex Hawke declared receiving a gift voucher and hair care products from Maqbool Enterprises.

Labor backbencher Richard Marles reported selling his Holden Commodore on March 29, while opposition frontbencher Joe Hockey declared the sale of an investment property and his wife Melissa's car.

But independent MP Bob Katter had some trouble declaring his wife's financial affairs.

"Not providing information to me. Some shares and some houses," he wrote plaintively on his declaration.

"I assume my wife has property loans and other loans."

Apartment sells for record $20m

Jonathan Chancellor
June 4, 2008
POTTS Point in Sydney has prised Australia's record apartment price from Melbourne following a $20 million penthouse sale.

An undisclosed "prominent Sydney businessman" bought the apartment off the plan after Sydney City Council approved the development on Monday.

The two-level penthouse, with views across Woolloomooloo Bay towards the central business district, Sydney Harbour and the Opera House, will have 530 square metres of internal space and 115 square metres of balcony.

The Wylde Street sale trumps an $18.2 million off-the-plan penthouse sale in East Melbourne and the $16.8 million Sydney record sale in Macquarie Street's Bennelong block earlier this year.

The Ashington Group, chaired by mortgage broker Mark Bouris, bought the development site for $15.5 million last year, indicating it viewed Potts Point as one of the true urban villages of Sydney.

"The sale was a sign that buyers will act quickly for distinctive apartment product," Ashington's director, Craig Minahan, said yesterday.

The design by architects Tzannes Associates echoes the curved glazing and copper roofing in the neighbouring 1930s heritage-listed Wyldefel Gardens residential complex.

The nine apartments included in the development with the penthouse will have interiors by fashion designer Alex Perry.

"Ten Wylde Street is the latest of the prestige high-rise apartment blocks to have dotted the Potts Point skyline since Kingsclere was built in 1912," selling agent Jason Boon said.

Ashington will soon demolish the existing seven-storey building that has been a 38-unit serviced apartment block since the late 1980s. The six-storey glazed building next to Garden Island is expected to be completed late next year.

Ashington had initially planned to gut the existing tower, set on an elevated position at the tip of the peninsula, and create 14 apartments.

Top penthouse has $6m view

DANIEL BOURCHIER

25 June 2008

THE penthouse of Darwin's Pandanas Apartments may be out of the league of Territory first home buyers -- it has been valued at $6million.

The apartment -- which is expected to be kept by the developers -- covers half of the 28th floor of the Knuckey St skyscraper and includes a wrap-around balcony with panoramic views of Darwin.

The building -- the NT's tallest -- was officially opened with a glitzy top-floor party last night.

Gwelo Developments has co-ordinated the construction of the tower over the past four years and managing director Even Lynne said the completion of the tower marked a change in residential living in the Territory.

"The vision was to create a new level of luxury and lifestyle for Darwin's residents and visitors,'' he said.

"Pandanas Apartments will be a catalyst for the revitalisation of Darwin, setting a new benchmark for luxury holiday accommodation for the area.''

Pandanas Apartments tower includes the 4-star Mantra Pandanas hotel, with 254 apartments as well as 62 residential apartments.

Of these 62, there are 47 luxury residential apartments -- only three have not sold yet -- beginning at $840,000, while only four of the 12 sub-penthouses left, with price tags of $1million to $1.3million, are left.

There are also two other penthouses that share the top floor and which will cost $3million when they go on sale this week.

Most of the apartments are open, but the rest will be operational by next month.

The Mantra Apartments also includes a restaurant, conference rooms, gym, and a day spa, with a hairdresser and gourmet deli set to open later this year.

The serviced apartments were opened in April and are run by the Stella Hospitality Group. Executive general manager Mark Hodge said the tower brings a new level of service.

"It is fresh, new and exciting, and is one of our biggest hotels in Australia,'' he said.

"It brings a new level of quality to the NT.''