Questions and Answers

AT A GLANCE

What is happening to the Absoe site?

West Village is transforming this landmark 2.6ha lot at the eastern entrance to West End into a vibrant mix of new residences, shops and places that reflect the identity of the suburb and, in doing so, create a destination for all of Brisbane.

Will the whole 2.6 hectares be developed with buildings?

No. West Village will provide 30% of the site as publicly accessible open space, laneways and arcades.

Mollison Green, a family friendly green space with children’s play area, and Boundary Street Common, which recreates the historic grass forecourt of the heritage listed Peters Ice Cream factory, will be available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Who is West Village and what is their track record?

The West Village project is a development by Sekisui House Australia.

Established in 1960, Sekisui House is one of Japan’s most respected home builders and new community developers.

With over two million homes to its credit and operations across Japan, Singapore, USA, China and Australia, Sekisui House has received a multitude of accolades for innovation, quality and sustainability.

Why is Sekisui House undertaking this development?

Sekisui House saw a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform an important yet underutilised and neglected site into a new destination for West End and Brisbane.

The site is a commanding feature of the neighbourhood and its redevelopment will enable locals and visitors alike to enjoy a new destination for Brisbane.

What is happening to the Peters Ice Cream Factory and 1920s brick warehouse?

The Peters Ice Cream Factory and the 1920s brick warehouse will be restored for adaptive reuse and celebrated by the project.

THE PROJECT ELEMENTS

Where is the site?

The site is 2.6ha located at 111 Boundary Street, West End, approximately 1km from the Brisbane CBD.

It is a commanding feature of the suburb as it fronts the dining, shopping and entertainment strip of Boundary Street, major public and private transportation route Mollison Street, as well as Little Jane Street and Wilson Street.

The site does not include the buildings that front the intersection of Boundary and Mollison Streets.

What are the main elements of the project?

West Village will rejuvenate a landmark West End site by delivering new residences, shops and places that reflect the identity of the suburb and, in doing so, create a new destination for all of Brisbane.

To be built in stages, West Village will ultimately comprise:

One, two and three bedroom apartments and townhouse designs to accommodate multiple resident types, including singles, share accommodation, partners and families
approximately 15,000m² of retail and commercial area, including:
- full-line supermarket
- retail, restaurants and food and beverage outlets
- Medical centre
- Childcare
- Office suited to creative industries and co-working
A 500m² space dedicated for community use markets and festivals
450 space commercial car park
Restored heritage buildings
Two parks – Boundary Street Common and Mollison Green
30% of the site as 24 hour publicly accessible open space, laneways and arcades

What are the project’s environmental sustainability commitments?

West Village will be Brisbane’s first 5-star Green Star community, delivering Australian excellence in environmental, social and economic sustainability.

The project has incorporated a range of sustainability initiatives in the design of the project, the materials that will be used to build it and the community and resident facilities that it will offer.

Examples include the use of passive designurban heat island reduction, rain water harvesting and built form construction waste recycling to deliver high quality NatHERS-rated homes.

Carless commuting is central to the project’s planning, and West Village has entered into an agreement with GoGet, Australia’s first and largest car sharing service, to give residents the option to live car-free and minimise traffic on local roads.

Other green transportation features include a state-of-the-art bicycle commuter centre and the provision of an electric vehicle charging station in the public car park.

How does the design of the project respond to the site?

The scale and position of the site required an imaginative architecture and urban design approach that recognises its importance to Brisbane.

West Village will provide connections to employment, recreational, cultural and education nodes in the city and South Bank and, with a range of accommodation options, including one, two and three bedroom apartments, and townhouses, will bring more community to the West End community.

The design of the buildings achieves a human scale at the street level through one and two storey podiums, activated with ground floor retail that encourages social interaction, while four pedestrian laneways provide connections through the site that currently don’t exist.

The site includes a 50 metre frontage to Boundary Street. This space will be used to create a new park, framed by two-storey retail pavilions and the restored Peters Ice Cream Factory.

What is the timeframe for construction?

The staged demolition of the site’s non-heritage buildings began in April 2016 and was largely completed in July 2016.

Construction of West Village Stage 1 began with the excavation of the residents’ car park in July 2016 and is expected to conclude in July 2018.

Timeframes for the construction of the other stages of the project will be provided when the Development Applications for each are finalised.

How will impacts be managed?

Sekijsui House is committed to undertaking the construction with care for its neighbours, and with attention to detail and quality.

Hutchinson Builders has been appointed to build this new destination for Brisbane, and the project will apply industry best practice to the construction works.

A Construction Management Plan has been prepared with environmental controls to include:

Vehicle management
Stormwater management
Noise control and working hours
Dust control, and
Odour control.

You can view the construction notices issued for the project here.

THE PLANNING PROCESS

Stage 1

Stage 1 of West Village received planning approval from Brisbane City Council in March 2016, and construction has commenced to deliver this landmark project for West End and Brisbane.

Preliminary Approval

West Village received Preliminary Approval from Brisbane City Council for the entire site in May 2016. This application was subject to a State Government Call-In (reassessment) in October 2016. The application was approved by the Deputy Premier in November 2016.

Stage 2

A Development Application is being prepared for Stage 2, and will be submitted to and assessed by Brisbane City Council.

Stage 3

Stage 3 includes the balance of the development site. Detailed planning has yet to commence for Stage 3.

COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS

What community facilities will the project provide?

West Village will transform the heart of the suburb with Mollison Green, a family friendly green space with children’s play area, and Boundary Street Common, which recreates the historic grass forecourt of the heritage Peters Ice Cream Factory.

The Ice Cream Factory and its 1920s brick warehouse will be carefully restored and returned the Boundary Street streetscape, after being hidden from view for 40 years.

The project will also include a child care centre, medical centre, and a 500m² community purpose space.

What is the economic impact of the development?

The construction of West Village will provide around 2,400 construction jobs and $168 million in wages and salaries for Queensland.

Once built, West Village will provide around 860 long term jobs and annual wages and salaries totalling $50.6 million for Queensland.

Youth and indigenous training and employment programs are already underway. In October 2016 a school of construction was established on site, providing employment pathways in construction and a dedicated indigenous participation program.

Does the project provide affordable housing?

Yes. Stage 1 of West Village will provide approximately 50 apartments that meet the State Government’s criteria for affordable housing for low and moderate income households.

Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) has determined that the purchase price for an affordable rental in inner Brisbane is $664,804, based on a median household income for the local government area of $110,855 (as at September 2015).

West End is not a Priority Development Area (PDA) for the State Government and the EDQ guidelines do not set a housing affordability requirement for the suburb.
Stage 1 of West Village, however, meets the 15% affordable housing target set for the Woolloongabba PDA and greatly exceeds the 5% target set for the Bowen Hills and Northshore Hamilton PDAs.

Information on the affordable housing outcomes for stages 2 and 3 of the project will be provided once Development Approval is received.

TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION

How will traffic get in and out of the development?

The project includes four street frontages with multiple car park entries to manage traffic flow, in response to modelling compiled by specialist traffic engineers TTM.

Analysis was informed by traffic surveys at five other local apartment buildings including Arena and Canvas apartments. Car-sharing, cycling infrastructure and high frequency public transport are all available at West Village.

How is the new community accessible, walkable and liveable?

Public areas will be connected by laneways only accessible by pedestrians and cyclists to foster a walkable, rideable and healthier neighbourhood.

These four pedestrian laneways will provide connections through the site that currently don’t exist and will be supported by a state-of-the-art bicycle commuter centre.

How does the project promote green transportation?

Improving safe and active transport is important to the project, and West Village has entered into an agreement with GoGet, GoGet, Australia’s first and largest car sharing service, to give residents the option to live car-free and minimise traffic on local roads.

A state-of-the-art bicycle commuter centre will further encourage carless commuting.

Promotions

This document sets out the terms of participation in the West Village “Brisbane Ice Cream Festival Competition”.

The promoter of this Competition is West End JV (the “Promoter”) of 96 Boundary Street West End 4101.
Entry to the Competition is open to residents of Australia. Entrants must be over 18 years and have attended the Brisbane Ice Cream Festival on 11^th March 2017.
Each entry must be entered in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. By entering the Competition, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.
The Promoter may in its discretion refuse to award any prize to any entrant who fails to comply with these Terms and Conditions. All relevant instructions on the Promoter’s survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NPN9K5D) form part of these Terms and Conditions.
Entry into the Competition is free.
The Competition opens at 1:00 PM 16th March 2017 and closes at 3:00 PM 24th March 2017 (“Competition Period”). Any entry received after the expiry of the Competition Period will be accepted at the sole discretion of the Promoter. No responsibility is accepted for late, lost, delayed or misdirected entries.
To enter the Competition, entrants must fully complete the online survey form in the manner required, including by providing their full name and current and valid email address. All valid entries received will be placed into a random prize draw.
The (3) prize winners will each receive the one (1) Coles Myer Gift Card to the value of $100.

You warrant that:

all details provided with your entry are true and accurate;
the exercise of the rights granted to the Promoter in these Terms and Conditions will not infringe the rights of any third parties; and you will indemnify the Promoter against any loss or damage resulting from any breach of these warranties.
You acknowledge that the Promoter is under no obligation to exercise any of the rights granted to it by these Terms and Conditions.
You agree that the Promoter may use your entry and any personal details provided to the Promoter for any promotional, marketing and publicity purposes of the Promoter in any media without notice and without any fee paid to you.
Decisions of the Promoter are final and will be binding on each person who enters the Competition and no correspondence will be entered into.

The name of the prize winners will be announced on the West Village Facebook page on 27th March 2017.
In the event that a prize winner is unable to be contacted/does not respond within twenty four (24) hours, the Promoter may determine another winner for the unclaimed prize. A winner of any unclaimed prize will be the prize winner for the purpose of these Terms and Conditions.
If there is any event that prevents or hinders the Promoter’s conduct of the Competition or the Promoter’s ability to deliver the prizes to the prize winners, the Promoter may, in its discretion, cancel the Competition.
The Promoter is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, or for any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilised in this Competition, or for any technical error that may occur in the course of the administration of this Competition. The Promoter assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to or alteration of entries.
To the full extent permitted by the law, the Promoter will not be liable for any injury, damages, expenses, or loss whatsoever (whether direct or inconsequential) to persons or property as a result of any person entering into the Competition or accepting or using any prize, including without limitation non-receipt of any prize or damage to any prize in transit.