Client:
Buderim Escape (Joint Venture)
Project:
The brainchild of Greg Downes, Buderim Escape is a sustainably designed rural residential development surrounded by remnant rainforest, which is part of a riparian wildlife corridor of high environmental significance.
Downes’ Role:
Downes conceived and project managed the building of “Buderim Escape”, delivering highly sought after home-sites within a natural setting restored to a pristine condition. The project involved negotiating with the developers, local landholders and the local government to develop a master plan that delivered a sustainable, highly prestigious living estate. Downes undertook:
- Initial concept development
- Landholder negotiations to create a coordinated design outcome
- Feasibility analysis
- Detailed project formulation
- Project management
- Planning
- Engineering and cadastral survey work for this environmentally sensitive parcel of land located on the pristine hinterland-coastal interface of the Sunshine Coast, South Eastern Queensland.
Delivered Outcomes:
Buderim Escape features high quality living environments based on best practice environmental design. Among the many benefits of the innovative, coordinated design approach was the ability to relocate previously approved lots from within an important rainforest corridor to existing cleared areas. Downes located and sized lots to ensure rainforests, drainage lines and creek banks remained undisturbed.
The home sites incorporated integrated onsite water collection and treatment technologies that reduced demand on Council’s water infrastructure; minimised vegetation disturbance and avoided increases in nutrient discharges.
The project has created partnerships with Council, researchers, environmental groups, industry and industry associations to contribute to research, education and promotion of sustainable development innovation.
“The idea for Buderim Escape was born from a desire to provide a solution for a family who wanted to subdivide their block of land, but the proposition proved not to be viable. Thinking outside the square, we negotiated agreements with four adjoining landholders to deliver a coordinated design approach that incorporated innovative provisions within the planning scheme. We created an attractive financial outcome for our clients along with environmental initiatives that were subsequently recognised in a number of environmental awards and a community award through our Professional Surveying Institute. Buderim Escape provides an excellent example of how providing a solution led to the creation of a project, that otherwise would never have existed. It has set the benchmark in environmentally sustainable development and we at Downes are proud to have our name associated it. We were involved right from the planning stage and it’s tremendously satisfying to see a project of this quality and with this level of environmental consciousness come to life within a community we love,”
Greg Downes
Founding Director