Bluerock Projects will build a new $25 million build-to-rent apartment project in Perth after the project was green-lit by planning authorities.
The four-storey development will comprise 51 apartments and follows DeHavilland Apartments, also developed by Bluerock Projects, the first 6-Star NABERS Energy-rated building delivered in the WA market.
And like DeHavilland Apartments, the new development, known as Tuohy Gardens, “will showcase our timber construction capability,” according to BlueRock Projects director Stuart Hawley.
“It will also further emphasise large-scale timber development projects’ environmental and cost benefits.”
Set to commence construction in the first half of 2024, the development “has been designed to support the influx of people who are part of the flourishing town centre,” according to Kylee Schoonens, the principal of the national architectural firm Rothelowman.
Mr Hawley is a long-time supporter of large-scale timber projects and spoke to WoodSolutions ahead of the DeHavilland Apartments development.
At the time, he hoped “the knowledge and performance of timber framing and mass timber will grow and expand timber applications in construction and development in WA and nationally.”
That project used engineered laminated veneer lumber (or LVL) Veneer for beams, columns and joists, whilst traditional stud framing was used for the walls.
Significantly, Tuohy Gardens will be the first build-to-rent project in the Perth suburb of Midland, which Mr Hawley said “made sense given the ongoing demand for rental properties in the area.”
Build-to-rent is booming across Australia, with JLL reporting that 2,000 build-to-rent apartments were under construction last year alone.
That is expected to double by next year, with Steve Mann from the Urban Development Institute reporting that “it is an important part of the future housing mix.”
Mass timber construction systems are increasingly being considered to drive the project surge.
On Tuesday, Wood Central reported that Brett Mason, CEO of Built, is working with the Liverpool City Council in Sydney’s West to drive mass timber in build-to-rent projects.
