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CASE STUDY<br />
Mixed-use delivers mixed challenges – The Village<br />
The Village, completed in 2009, is a<br />
$300 million mixed-use development in<br />
Balgowlah, 10 kilometres north-east of<br />
the central business district in Sydney.<br />
Formerly a shopping centre site, the<br />
new integrated development includes<br />
234 apartments in seven mid-rise buildings<br />
and a two-tier shopping centre set among<br />
landscaped gardens.<br />
The Village is an excellent example<br />
of an urban redevelopment of the<br />
type needed to accommodate our<br />
growing population.<br />
However, challenges we encountered<br />
on this project have led us to rethink the<br />
viability of this type of development.<br />
We purchased the site in 2001 and<br />
didn’t get off to a good start as we failed<br />
to undertake appropriate stakeholder<br />
engagement and submitted a proposal that<br />
did not comply with local council guidelines.<br />
We responded to this difficult start and<br />
after two years of consulting with the<br />
community and council, the first stage of<br />
the development was approved in 2005.<br />
During the second stage we encountered<br />
more challenges when the local council<br />
imposed unreasonable conditions on the<br />
development that we had to resolve in<br />
court. In every instance the court found<br />
against the council but these delays came<br />
at a considerable cost and materially<br />
reduced the return we had hoped to<br />
make on the project.<br />
Key learnings<br />
Although the final result has been very well<br />
received by customers and the community,<br />
our experiences on this project were a key<br />
factor in our decision to exit the apartments<br />
business due to the high risks created by<br />
the planning approvals process.<br />
On a positive note, this project also<br />
reinforced the importance of early and<br />
effective stakeholder engagement.<br />
The lessons we learned have helped inform<br />
the creation of stakeholder engagement<br />
plans which are now in place across all<br />
of our projects.<br />
Sustainability excellence<br />
The Village features a number of innovative<br />
sustainable design features including a<br />
heat exchange system which harnesses the<br />
waste heat from the retail air-conditioning<br />
systems and uses it to heat water for<br />
residential use. This system is the first<br />
of its kind in a mixed-use development<br />
in Australia. There is also a rainwater<br />
harvesting and reticulation system<br />
comprising a 500,000 litre rainwater tank<br />
that provides water for residential laundries,<br />
toilet systems and gardens.<br />
The Village, Balgowlah, NSW<br />
26<br />
<strong>Stockland</strong> Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report June 2010