We own a house in the Inner West (relevant council is Marrickville Council) which we would like to knock down and develop into a small block of apartments. We have made some preliminary enquiries of the council as to zoning and what can be put onto our property. We would like to take the next step and speak with some professionals who can guide us in this area as we are new to developing. We are reading as much as we can on this forum, which is fantastic btw. Does anyone have any recommendations regarding architects and builders familiar with this area? For a first time developer, is it best to have a project manager to guide us or can the architect or builder take on this role? Many thanks in advance.
The architect can take up the project management role, this is what happens for most of the projects we work on in Sydney.
How many apartments? There are lots of projects going up in Marrickville right now, which you would know of course. Any small ones that you like the look of? That is often a great way to get an architect contact. That biggish block nearing completion on Illawarra Road - across the road from where Church Street hits Illawarra - looks great. I believe it's a Rozelle architect.
5 x 2 bedder units above commercial shop. I'll see what i can find out about that Rozelle architect. What can I expect of the architect if they take the lead role in the project? Do they arrange quotes from all the other consultants, builders etc or do they recommend particular consultants and then i contact them individually to obtain quotes?
Most architects would have builders they like to work with. There are benefits to everyone if a builder understands how an architect thinks. Many architects also get a quantity surveyor involved for the costing of a project. Another architect who has built some good stuff around Marrickville is: Candalepas Associates
Syd00, I happened to drive down Addison Road this morning - from Victoria. A hundred metres or so down on the right hand side there is a small development happening above a couple of shops. At a quick glance, it looked a bit interesting. Hard to tell, though, as it's a way off being finished. It would be worth keeping an eye on for an architect and builder team.
1. Talk to the council town planner and determine if there are any issues to consider (flood or heritage overlays, etc) and also ascertain a Planning Certificate which you will need to provide to your architect or town planner 2. Engage a town planner or architect that is familiar with the council - you need someone who is familiar with what the council wants, what sort of issues they will object to, etc 3. Concurrently talk to your banker or broke about how the finance is going to work as this is going to potentially affect your feasibility study and what you do with the property (i.e. sell, build, hold).
Agree but may be too early - no point in talking to the accountant now if you don't know what can be built on the property? Once you have ascertained what can be built and the finance implications then you certainly need to engage a bunch of other professionals including an Accountant.
Honestly atm it does appear youre out of your depth, especoally if you havent developed before. Apartments and commercial is a fair bit more invovled and intricate than say townhouses with a smaller margin for error so is strongly consider hiring a good project manager. Eg, a firm like this. Not reckmmending them specifically as i know nothing about them. AVER What We Do
I fear we may get in over our heads developing for the first time without having professional guidance we can trust. The property has great potential. We have developers in the area who have offered to buy our property. It is very run down and at this stage we are thinking either sell to a developer or hold onto it and develop it ourselves. This may be for another thread, but how does a developer decide how much to offer for a development site? (I ask this incase we decide to sell the property as is... how do we come to the decision whether to sell it as is, sell with DA, or develop ourselves and keep the units and rent them out, factoring in the time and headaches that can come with developing for the first time).
You come to the decision by being able to make an informed decision so you need tangible figures to weigh up $$ vs risk vs headache So you need to get an idea of value pf current property, id consider hiring a good valuer or speaking to commercial agents who specialise in such sites at a minimum. Then you need to do a bit of a feaso on possible outckmes if you develop and cash needed to fund the development. You can pay consultants like i mentioend above to do this Once you have that info you can decide which way to go. Currently there would be too much guesswork to make a properly informed decision. Yes youll need to spend some money to do this but welcome to developing/investing in prime sites. In the future once you gain experience you might be able to work it all out yourself but right now i wouldnt recommend it.
@Syd00 other forum members already posted valuable info above. You may want to consider getting a DA and on sell it with plans and permit, if you don't want to develop the block.- that can be an option too. Cost of DA for such project can be around $30-$50K (inc Professional fees)