Hawthorn Park solidifies Dahua Group's Australian presence
Dahua Group's Managing Director William Huang recently sat down with Urban.com.au to profile the company's upcoming Hawthorn Park development, and their wider intentions for the Australian market.
Exposure for the development is on the rise prior to its public launch next month. Hawthorn Park shapes as one of Melbourne's largest releases for 2017, with 362 dwellings slated for the 12,282sqm site which holds three street frontages; the major frontage is to Camberwell Road.
Located in the burgeoning apartment market that is Hawthorn East, Dahua Group have positioned Hawthorn Park with flexibility in mind. William Huang explains that dwellings, and particularly dwelling sizes and formats have been designed to broaden the project's appeal within the marketplace.
Rothelowman are responsible for both architecture and interiors, designing Hawthorn Park's gamut of living options which sees interiors range between 45sqm and 137sqm.
Apartments aside, Hawthorn Park will feature a string of retail tenancies and dual cafes to Camberwell Road and Burwood Road. At present the only confirmed tenant is DOMO, with the furniture brand accounting for a Camberwell Road space.
Asked what additional features the projects boasts, William Huang states that the project will include Melbourne's first elevated pool that spans separate buildings. A gym, skywalk, cabana lounge, outdoor alfresco dining area, yoga/massage room and cycling workshop form the balance of amenities within Hawthorn Park.
Jack Merlo is responsible for the development's communal green areas, with one zone featuring a hammock lounge.
Quizzed on a likely start to construction, Dahua Group have pencilled in the second quarter of 2018. Hawthorn Park's construction tender process is currently underway.
In the broader development picture, Dahua Group maintains a development pipeline of apartments and greenfield estates that will see it through to 2030.
Asked is Dahua Group is specifically looking for additional Melbourne apartment development sites, William Huang explains that if the right site and circumstances arise the developer would act, but their plan of hedging between apartments and detached housing has served them well to date.
Having created separate development arms in both Melbourne and Sydney during 2014, Shanghai-based parent firm Dahua Group joined the flow of Asian-based developers into Australia at the peak of the recent development boom.
In response to a question regarding the restrictions placed upon foreign investment by the Chinese Government and its subsequent effects on developers such as Dahua Group, William Huang is unperturbed. Given the string of restrictionary planning and financial changes make by both state and federal bodies in recent years, William Huang explains that developers in general have ridden those challenges.
As for Dahua Group, it's a business as normal approach to delivering their strengthening development portfolio across Melbourne.
