Brian Boyd PAYCE Sydney News

Brian Boyd of PAYCE Consolidated Pty Limited - Kirrawee residential apartment development unveils revised plans for old brick pit site

Date : March 12, 2014

From the ruins of the old Brick pits of Sydney's CBD rises a vibrant new community of residential apartments, a retail, shopping precinct as well as Commercial Office spaces for lease. – This is the vision that Brian Boyd – managing director of one of Sydney's leading property development companies - PAYCE Consolidated Pty Limited has proposed and is even now being ratified through the Department of Planning and Infrastructure.

The future for Kirrawee's old brick pit site looks promising, with leading Australian property development company, PAYCE Consolidated Pty Limited lodging a set of revised concept plans with the Department of Planning and Infrastructure for determination following an extensive review by PAYCE of the previously approved concept plan.

From brick pit to vibrant urban community in the heart of Sydney's CBD

PAYCE plans to transform the 4.25 hectare Kirrawee Brick Pit site into a mix of residential apartment developments, retail businesses and commercial office development in what would be the largest urban renewal project ever undertaken in the Sutherland Shire.

The brick pit site is situated on the southern side of the Princes Highway and lies within the block bounded by the Princes Highway to the north, Flora Street to the south, Oak Road to the west and existing industrial businesses to the east.

The site is approximately 150 metres due north of Kirrawee railway station and 25 kilometres from the Sydney central business district.

The degraded site has remained vacant for many years and is presently overgrown with vegetation and enclosed by a cyclone mesh fence.

Since acquiring the site last year, PAYCE has been working with the award-winning Australian architectural firm, Turner and Associates, to enhance the original approved concept plan as proposed by the former site owner.

The original concept was approved by the State Government's Planning Assessment Commission in August 2012.

PAYCE, ever conscious of the residential community, made several modifications to the proposed layout, giving the site a more open design by improving road access, reducing the retail area and reconfiguring the residential apartment component.

The New South Village Community at Kirrawee

Once one of many brick pits scattered across Sydney and with a history stretching back over a century, the site had several brick manufacturing owners up until the mid 1970s when it was acquired by the Sydney Water Board for water storage, but that activity never eventuated and it became an equipment depot.

For the past decade the site has lay dormant and there has been much speculation and debate within the community over its future use.

PAYCE's managing director, Brian Boyd says his company's $350 million project, to be known as South Village, will transform the residential and commercial aspects of the area into a vibrant, integrated community that will have long-lasting benefits for the shire. Brian Boyd said the site afforded a unique opportunity to create a wonderful urban environment, giving residents access to a wide range of new retail and commercial businesses, literally on their doorstep.

"South Village will offer a wonderful quality of life for its residents and the local neighbourhood, with new community facilities incorporated into the design and an expanded and enhanced village shopping precinct," he said.

Forward planning - traffic flow through the South Village residential development

Brian Boyd mentioned that PAYCE's revised plan incorporates alterations to traffic movements both on site and off site to make traffic flows more efficient and safer.

"These enhancements include the introduction of more pedestrian thoroughfares and raising the park level to ensure greater connectivity with the existing Oak Road retail strip", said Brian Boyd.

Along with the reduction in retail to minimise traffic congestion, PAYCE has added new street entrances and modified the site exit plan to address council's traffic concerns.

Upgrades, which include the introduction of traffic lights, will also be undertaken to the intersections on Bath Road and Oak Road.

PAYCE's vision for an integrated urban community of residential commercial property

Brian Boyd says the revised concept plan is a more open design, especially in the marketplace area, with more access points to businesses and a greater area of parkland.

"The latest plan is still within the approved building height limit of 50 metres and addresses concerns raised in relation to the previously approved concept plan,'' he said.

Brian Boyd said PAYCE's long experience in urban renewal projects and with building quality developments will be reflected in the Kirrawee project and will ensure its success.

"The revised concept plan currently before Planning and Infrastructure for determination provides for 749 apartments contained within seven buildings, ranging from seven to fifteen storeys and a total of 19,500 square metres of open space, including over 9,000 square metres of public parkland," he said.

"The shopping centre, which is approved for two supermarkets and a number of speciality shops, will cover 14,190 square metres. "Parking for residents and shoppers will be accommodated onsite in underground car parks, as will all loading bays servicing the retail outlets.

PAYCE - sustainable urban community

"All the apartments will include eco features in their sustainable designs, such as cross-ventilation, water and power saving devices, natural lighting, LED lighting and solar hot water systems, as well as rainwater harvesting to irrigate communal plants and gardens across the complex."

Simon McTigue, PAYCE's head of retail development says an important feature is the extensive landscaping of open spaces throughout the development and the connectivity of pedestrian and cycle paths to the onsite shops and the existing shop strip on Oak Road.

"The influx of new residents and the greater revitalisation of the area generally are expected to drive a larger number of consumers to the current retail centre and help support greater business growth to local business owners," he says.

"To that end, PAYCE has also commenced consultation with the local businesses on Oak Road to offer support in their efforts to enhance the existing retail strip.

"The public park, which covers nearly a quarter of the site, will benefit all the community, with a children's playground and ornamental lake as its key features.

"We see the park's attraction as a place to relax with the family or friends after shopping, or a place to meet up and relax in a peaceful environment.

"The stand of turpentine and ironbark trees adjacent to Oak Road North will be retained and there will be hundreds of additional mature trees and shrubs planted across the site," he said.

South Village set to be an attractive proposition - property investors seeking entry to residential markets

PAYCE's general manager, Dominic Sullivan says the proposed development has attracted a lot of interest from people looking for quality accommodation in the shire.

"Many people growing up in the shire wish to remain close to family and friends, but up to now, the lack of suitable accommodation did not always make this possible," he said.

This level of buyer interest seems to be borne out of the response to recent apartment sales in Cronulla and Woolooware Bay, where most residential properties and apartments were scooped up the day they hit the market.

Mr Sullivan is confident PAYCE's Kirrawee development will appeal to a range of buyers wishing to stake a claim in the investment apartment or residential apartment housing markets.

"It is just a short walk of 150 metres to Kirrawee railway station and minutes' drive away from the Royal National Park.

"When you add the proximity to Cronulla Beach and the waterways of the Georges River and Port Hacking, the location is all the more desirable to home buyers and investors."

PAYCE residential communities

Brian Boyd says PAYCE prides itself on creating exceptional places to live, work and play and has a great success record with its projects reaching back to 1978.

PAYCE can certainly boast an impressive list of residential apartment developments in and around Sydney focusing on best practice designs and delivering integrated lifestyles.

Recent property developments in former industrial areas include apartments and retail opportunities at Homebush Bay and three projects at Victoria Park at Zetland.

The company developed one of Sydney's first comprehensive master plans for Homebush Bay and oversaw the transformation of the industrial wasteland to the new suburb of Wentworth Point and the creation of a thriving new urban community of residential apartments.

PAYCE is also in a joint partnership development with the NSW Government in the Riverwood North Renewal Project where 150 older social housing units are being replaced with 150 modern social housing units for seniors and approximately 500 apartments for private sale.

This model project combining social and private housing has already attracted interest from interstate jurisdictions as well as from overseas organisations.

According to Brian Boyd, much of PAYCE's continuing success can be attributed to having the best network of building and property development industry professionals to deliver its projects.

"When you have the best building architects, designers, builders, interior designers and landscape architects in the land you have the ability to create very special places to live, work and visit.

"Our speciality in urban renewal has created a legacy of quality mixed use urban precincts and active communities with improved and modern lifestyles."

PAYCE in Kirrawee and the South Village development

PAYCE have a reputation for building engaging and lifestyle active communities, "This is what we can achieve in Kirrawee's South Village – an environmentally friendly place to call home where its residents truly feel part of an integrated community with a wide range of amenities and services available nearby," Brian Boyd said.

PAYCE's proposal is currently on public exhibition and submissions can be lodged with the Department of Planning and Infrastructure up until 21 March 2014.

PAYCE says that subject to the project getting the green light, work could start in late 2014, with the first apartments comprising one, two and three bedrooms coming onto the market from late 2014 to early 2015. It expects to complete the whole project by 2017.

Brian Boyd says his company has a policy of community involvement and supports a number of community initiatives in the Sutherland Shire.

"Last year we sponsored the Gymea Carols by Candlelight and the inaugural Endless Summer Festival of the PAYCE Baywatch Area.

"This year we are proud and excited to have the opportunity to be the principal sponsor of the 2014 Cronulla Shark Island Swim."