Developing potential with a project management expert

Martin Russell: There is a flight to quality land. What we’re seeing at the moment is that residential sales in the market are quickly retreating, yet on the other side of the spectrum we’ve got developments that we're involved in where properties are still being actively sought after. These sales are in good areas with limited stock. And because the delivery timeframe for when they’re going to be available is early 2024, a lot of buyers in the residential market are looking forward to the future in terms of recovery – they’re not looking at buying something today, it’s investing into developments off the plan and being positive that the market will be in a better position then.

We’re seeing a lot of the larger developers – some that we are working with – carrying on with their developments, however they are reviewing the staging, timing of delivery, and amending their designs or product type to reflect the market.

In the past year, we’ve also seen a shift towards investors looking to expand their investment portfolio from typically residential-only into commercial. This shift has resulted in increased attention from developers that we work with who typically might not have looked at this sector five years ago.

MR: There certainly are issues with a labour shortage and the material supply chain – everyone is talking about that. Another big issue is understaffing leading to lengthy delays in obtaining consents, subdivision approvals and processing titles. All of these things are having a detrimental impact on projects.

This is why having a professional project management team assists in a number of ways – it’s picking up early on where those delays are going to happen, and trying to mitigate those delays before they occur. We’ve got relationships with experienced professionals we’ve dealt with previously such as architects, engineers and planners, and through this great professional network, along with our vast experience, we are best placed to maximise the potential of any development.

MR: We offer cradle to grave development and turn-key project management services. We get involved in every part of a development from land acquisition and master planning, right through to completion of the titles and CCC for completed homes.

We liaise with Council and all of the different partners required to understand the development controls, the infrastructure in that area, the zoning and the planning. Working with the design team, we run through the consent process for them on the basis of where we believe a master plan is going to be successful and yield a good return in the market and particular area. This involves working out, for example, whether the homes should be terraced or standalone, what sort of density we want to achieve, and understanding the price point for that market.

We also assist with marketing and quite often, funding – sometimes we facilitate strategic partnerships where a client may need an equity partner, or they need someone else to come in to assist in getting the development to the next step. We run all the tender processes and procurement for consultants and contractors, we manage the contractor, we administer the contract, and we manage and run the S224c, S223, and titling process because that determines when you can settle on the properties that you’ve sold. If we are managing the construction of the houses, we also provide services right through to CCC.

MR: We’ve delivered industrial buildings, apartments, retail and commercial buildings and numerous childcare centres. The benefit of that is we’ve got a team of consultants and contractors that we work well with and we understand how to manage design and ensure it is in line with where we need construction pricing to sit. We consistently deliver successful projects in, or under budget.

MR: The sooner the better to avoid challenges later on in the development lifecycle. We recommend seeking professional development and project management involvement at the earliest possible opportunity.

We take real ownership of design in terms of knowing what products and what materials are readily available, cost-effective, and will work well for the type of structure. We work closely with the architect to drive them to a balance between an architecturally designed building and something that our clients as developers can deliver on that is financially feasible and sits within the budget that they need to achieve.

We look right into the detail – into the type of structure and how we can reduce cost early on to prevent needing to go through a lengthy cost engineering process later.

Get in touch with CPMC to learn more about how the team can assist in project and development management.