Devine to begin building Teneriffe apartments with rooftop CBD views early after strong off-the-plan sales

Another inner-Brisbane apartment project will soon start to rise above the Brisbane River, with developer Devine to begin construction of its $58 million, 111-apartment DoubleOne3 project in February.

The project in the riverside suburb of Teneriffe has sold strongly since being launched late last year, with 70% of the 111 apartments now sold, worth more than $37 million.

Construction will begin one month ahead of schedule, with completion and settlements set to take place in May next year.

Teneriffe was only officially classified a suburb in January 2010, having previously been included as part of Newstead.

It is just east of Fortitude Valley, in between New Farm and Newstead and has a ferry service connecting the suburb to the CBD.

DoubleOne3 is one of four inner-Brisbane projects that commenced off-the-plan sales in the November quarter, with the others being The Plaza (Metro Property Group), Atrio (Drew Group/Trident Corp) and Evvien (Evviden Development).

Inner Brisbane is a hotspot of apartment projects, with the November 2012 Midwood Report noting more than 50 high-rise and medium-rise apartment projects currently being marketed off the plan or being sold while under construction.

The top-selling project over the November quarter was Metro Property Development’s Cambridge Towers, part of its Central Village project, which managed 79 off-the-plan sales since launching around the same time as of DoubleOne3.

DoubleOne3 with 39 sales recorded over the same time period, was the second-best selling project. 

Devine’s major project in inner Brisbane is its Hamilton Harbour development, in partnership with Leightons, five kilometres further up the Brisbane River.

According to Midwood figures, Harbour One and Harbour Two are almost sold out, with just 20 out of 521 apartments still up for sale.

There are still 62 apartments for sale in Hamilton Harbour – Riverside Hamilton, which features 189 apartments.

According to Devine’s general manager of apartments and development, Cameron Mana, the DoubleOne3 project has proven popular with a geographically diverse range of owner-occupiers and investors, underpinned by the ongoing recovery of the local apartment market.

“To be commencing construction ahead of schedule is a great result for our buyers and an endorsement of both the project and the appeal of the Teneriffe area.

“With sentiment continuing to improve as borrowing costs fall we are confident the remainder of the apartments will be sold prior to the completion of construction,” he says.

 

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Among the features of DoubleOne3 is a rooftop terrace with views of the Brisbane CBD skyline.

The ground floor will include offices and retail tenancies, which has already been sold to Arthur Properties and is earmarked for a café, takeaway pizza, wine bar and bottle shop, hair salon, convenience store and gymnasium.

One-bedroom apartments in the project start from $375,000, and two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments start from $580,000, with both including secure car parking.

They feature spacious balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows, with some offering views of the CBD and the Brisbane River.

Since 1996, Devine has completed more than 3,000 apartments valued at more than $1 billion in Brisbane, with completed projects including Charlotte Towers, Festival Towers, River City Apartments and River Place.

According to census 2011 data analysed by BIS Shrapnel’s Angie Zigomanis, occupants in inner-Brisbane apartments are heavily skewed into the young adult age groups, being dominated by those aged 20 to 39 years old.

Zigomanis says the inner-Brisbane apartment market is “dominated by investors”.

“At the 2011 census, 58% of apartments were owned by investors and were rented out. Some 11% were reported as unoccupied.

“While some of these unoccupied dwellings are vacant and available for rent or sale, or by occupants who were away on census night, the majority are likely to be “lock-up and leave” – apartments owned as a second home by an owner living elsewhere, or as a long-term speculative purchase,” he says.

Midwood recorded 189 new apartment sales over the November quarter, compared with 74 in the previous corresponding quarter.

In total there are around 1,300 new apartments up for sale.