Preliminary Development Feasibility Assessment Report

1. The site location and analysis
   1. Location: The selected site is located at 181 James Ruse Drive, Camellia, Parramatta NSW, which is geographical middle of Sydney. Parramatta is the second CBD of Sydney, and there is the largest shopping centre in Parramatta, the selected site is situated 1.5 km east of Parramatta, and it has built copious industrial businesses, these businesses provide employment across various field of industries. And the site is beside the Parramatta River which flows into Sydney Harbour.
   2. Background: Camellia was identified as priority development area in “A Plan for Growing Sydney”, released in 2014. NSW Planning Minister Pru Goward said NSW government will cooperate with Parramatta City Council to redevelop Camellia, Camellia has great potential to become the third economy in Sydney. Region Plan is important process for future growth. Additionally, Camellia is characterised by abundant industrial history and ample industrial land uses. According to the 2016 ABS Census identified that there are no residents in the town centre, this area is an employment area for now. Therefore, Camellia Land Use and Infrastructure Strategy, 2015 referred to introduce residential and commercial uses around Camellia Railway Station.
   3. Public Transport: T6 Carlingford line is the existing rail crossing Camellia, and Parramatta Light Rail is under construction, it will work in 2023. Bus route M52 can also make a round trip from Camellia to The City.
   4. Issues:
2. Key planning controls
   1. Height: Across the town centre, the maximum heights of buildings range from 9 to 12 metres
   2. Floor Space Ratio: The town centre has a current Floor Space Ratio (FSR) of between 1:1 and 1.5:1
3. Market analysis, development options, costs, financial return, profit

The policies mentioned above relate to a wide range of provisions of the planning scheme as per the proposed development plan in the general sense. The proposed land development project adheres to the strategic directions and guidelines of the state’s real estate development policy framework. Of particular interest to the potential developer is the relevance of the proposed development plan in accordance to the provisions of clause 16.01-1 which seeks  to` `promote housing market that meets the needs of the community” while “ increasing the supply of the existing residential establishment in the Carlington area at relevant locations including the underutilised areas (Rathod & Aruchamy, 2010 p 1106). The establishment is also located in a continuously growing residential area in an existing urban location. The surrounding amenities include employment corridors, activity centres and other strategic areas of interest. The residential area on which the property is located in a modern designed area where there are a myriad of reinvestment opportunities so as to reduce the pressure on fringe development. In addition there is a wide variety of civil and social support amenities for a wide range of residential support systems (Gibbs &Deutz, 2007 p 1683).

The design of dwelling facilities varies in form and scale for surrounding locations and will make a fundamental contribution to the diversity and growth of the Carlington area and its surrounding ad identified by the NSW development plans (Roy & Giriraj, 2008 p 346). The location has potential to be developed according to context and the trending property development initiatives of the day. This is supported by the fact that the property is in close proximity to a public transportation system including other amenities and employment clusters that offer continues opportunities for livelihood among skilled and unskilled Australians. This means that the area is rich in labour and therefore a development company seeking to invest in the land will benefit from cheaper labour  (Koo & Fischer, 2000 p 251). The sustainability and the environment surrounding the property is relevant to the development standards of the client. This is entailed in entailed in the demarcation design of the Carlington area  where it is designed to provide a balanced residential development including a variety of housing designs  for the changing tastes in household sizes, structures and styles while holistically responding to the existing character and trends of the neighbourhood. The residential building block around Carlington is also such that it allows for housing styles that appropriately accommodate current and future needs of the occupants while enhancing the city’s character (Bullen, 2007 p 20)r. A variety of diverse population could live there as the property is situated in an area that caters for different family models from all walks of life, preferences and urban experiences. This is why the property is being fronted as a property development location of choice as it encourages best practices in the development of high quality architectural designs, quality buildings and beautiful landscaping as well as accounting for other aspects such as soul erosion, fire risk management, urban water management systems, appropriate landscaping designs and use of quality building materials. In addition, the site is located in a conserved treed environment where residents are encouraged to revegetate the environment by planting trees in and around their places of residence. This contributes to a serine and clean climate. (Gusakova & Gusakov, 2015 p 1)

The area is also abundantly supplied with clean water as storm water is conserved so that it is efficiently and effectively supplied amongst the area residents (Ohno et al, 2014 p 163). This reduces the impact on the land as less boreholes are dug as well as reducing the need for portable water around Carlington. It is expected that the construction designs of the houses in response to the proposed development plan and choice of site is indicative of the fact that the land can accommodate 2-3 storied buildings as well as expansive development projects that the potential of providing dwelling typologies capable of providing diversity in housing and availability that will eventually help in the development of the municipality. The proposed layout, scale and orientation of the land in question responds positively to future land development needs, the character of the existing establishments as well as being in sync with the existing environs (Zhao at al, 2010). As highlighted in the opening remarks of the report, the intended land area for development exhaustively details the road and street network that includes car parks and safe pedestrian walking networks all-round the land. For this reason, applicants must exhibit their intentions to put into consideration development plans that are environmentally sustainable commonly referred to as Environmentally Sustainable Designs (ESD) as well as water sensitive urban design (WSUD) strategies that facilitate the formulation of development designs that can be adequately applied at the site.

In addition to the site description and analysis is indicative of watering sites and locations. Most importantly there are government installations that facilitate solar access that will be useful in reducing future reliance on mechanical heating and cooling systems.

The local land development policy framework

The local Policy Framework is relevant and provides guidelines to the Residential Development character of potential property developers. The policy emphasis on the conservation of the environment and the need for future developments of the same parcel of land (Osmani et al, 2008 p 1147). The policy provides that the property developed must contribute positively to the development of the Carlington area. It needs to encourage the emergence of new developments using modern architectural designs that contribute to a positive character of the neighbourhood (Tam et al, 2007 p 3642). The Local Policy Framework is also inclined towards the provision of a variety of housing designs that encourage efficiency in energy use. Generally, the area complements the current land use and, character and contributory elements that satisfies the business needs of the owner and residential and, or commercial needs of the occupan (Chao et al, 2001 p 3)t. In addition, the policy framework calls for a sustained effort in and consistency in conservation efforts. This initiative has continuously help the area increase the bulk of development.

4. Recommendations to progress the project

 

4.1 Preliminary cost benefit analysis

The preliminary cost analysis and assessment were done for cost estimation purposes only. The estimates should not be considered as either conclusive, suitable or viable to be used as supporting details for financial reporting purposes. They are intended solely to help in the budgeting process. The probable indicative cost for the intended land development project ranges between $500 million and $ 700 million for the whole project including estimates for other alternatives and occidental contingency plans. However, the estimates excludes the cost of developing land around the land especially construction of sewer lines and other social amenities as well as the upgrade of the existing infrastructure. The rationale for omitting such costs in the main estimations is that such projects will be done in conjunction with other partners especially government agencies where costs will be shared (Porwal et al, 2013). However, these costs have been accounted for independently where they are expected to range between $210 million and $ 250 million. While conducting the cost analysis, the analysts emphasised on the more expensive options as long as the benefits outweighed the costs. The main objective here is to provide the customer with the most satisfactory and homely ambience (Olofsson, 2004 p 297).

4.2

Preliminary concept plan for the 780-786 Pennant Hills Rd Carlingford, NSW 2118

The analysis included the development of an initial concept plan for developing 780-786 Pennant Hills Rd Carlingford, NSW 2118. This includes a multi-criteria analysis for the proposed land development project. The initial analysis shows that the adoption of the project and implementation of the project as per the designs has greater benefits overall than looking for investment opportunities elsewhere.

Review of the implementation plan’

The client initiated a discussion with the project developer concerning the accommodation of future land development consultancy and implementation services. The results of the talks indicated that 780-786 Pennant Hills Rd Carlingford, NSW 2118 would remain the primary target   out of the proximity of social amenities, security and the cost of the investment. The development of residential and commercial buildings in the area is aimed at targeting the working community in the cities close by. For this reason, the property is considerably strategically placed as it is located near major transportation infrastructure. An adequate network of roads facilitates bus services while roads have a higher occupancy which makes moving around less stressful(Letao & Ahem, 2002 p 65).

Road design around the property

 

The feasibility study was able to determine that the proposed project would be feasible from the perspective of the existing road system including the proposed pathways that will be constructed together with the main project. It is important to note that the options proposed for the road system and bypass service roads was done for the purposes of the feasibility study only. It should therefore should not be considered as a comprehensive recommendation of all possible solutions. For the purposes of the proposed project the following issues were found.

A storied building with up to 3 floors is feasible, with a design of smaller houses and apartments to cater for the smaller population of those clients who would like to live in their own compounds.

The construction of low cost but adequately comfortable living spaces is possible.

The construction of streets, feeder roads and rehabilitation of the public transportation system in the area is possible.

There is a higher impact in terms of opportunity cost if the project sponsor decides to invest in another location using the same building plans and budget.

Construction of flats Vis a Vis single residencies would reduce the impact on the available resources.

The proposed project could be served by a single street

An adequate solution to the drainage of stormwater should be achieved

Collaboration with government agencies is inevitable.

Note: Full construction of the intended structures was investigated including connections to the existing basic requirements such as the main roads, water and electricity. Where the project design will need additional land, the architect, the land owner and the city planner will consult and decide whether the project should be scaled down or make a decision to procure more land.

Land requirements

The Federal agencies charged with managing public land and the local county council are considered the implied owners of land on behalf of the government(Antrop, 2005 p 25). This helps in determining the legality of a land deal. The council also requires that a person conducts a land search before agreeing to transact any land matter. Therefore where a final decision to develop 780-786 Pennant Hills Rd Carlingford, NSW 2118 will be reached, it will be the responsibility of the developer to visit the land offices in Sydney and check the availability of the parcel of land. Land requirements for the purpose of this analysis varies on the basis of the following factors:

• Land where there will be least impact on the environment
• The significance and popularity of the Sydney suburbs due to the availability of space and proximity to the city.
• The impacts of all options considered together as per their impact on land and the surrounding environment.

Capacity analysis

From the modelling data used in the preliminary assessments, the following deficiencies were found;

The area around Parratta, is characterized by a big population living in a small space. Therefore, it is important to build a high capacity building since the land cannot support many single establishments. In matters transportation, the are lacks in pedestrian and cyclists way. It also lacks in pedestrian crossing market. However, the road network around 780-786 Pennant Hills Rd Carlingford, NSW 2118 is adequate enough to allow easy movement.

Geotechnical assessments

The geotechnical analysis comprises a review of the published data and information on the ground conditions and site conditions including a walk-around survey of the grounds. The findings from the analysis were as anticipated. They showed that the ground and site conditions are viable for construction of storied buildings as well as good quality roads. It should therefore be possible to fully implement the project successfully as per the conceptual plan. However, the project stakeholders take into account the fact that there will be other ground conditions that may be caused by other factors such as rains (Butt et al, 2015 p 236). The have the potential of changing the whole dimension of the project. Nonetheless, the probability of such an occurrence has been found to be very low to raise alarm bells. The cost-benefit analysis also indicates that the current state of the ground is feasible considering the cost of laying s foundation and the long-term goals of the developers.

Structures

The investigations to assess the feasibility of the parcel of land in question was undertaken on the basis of the available information and data in relation to geotechnical and hydraulic analysis. This was done through the development of a broad number of construction possibilities such as

• Constructability
• Design risks and constraints
• Site challenges and constraints such as demarcation of site boundaries
• Foundations and geotechnical conditions
• Environmental considerations such as soil erosion and noise
• Construction timelines, targets impact of the site conditions to the achievement of these targets and timelines.

Safety and security considerations

The findings outline key issues that require to be considered critically during the planning and acquisition processes. It is important to consider these early enough during the process of costing. This will ensure that enough funds are set aside for acquisition and development of the land and also enable and earlier consideration of all the available options before the final decision can be made. This is particularly important during the construction phase (Koomen & Stillwell 2014 p 91). Poor choice o design and location coupled with poor planning can have a major impact on the development of the said parcel of land. The analysts belie that the results of the geotechnical information is enough to conclude that the land is feasible for development purposes. Other working hazards such as working with heavy machinery on the piece 0f land as well as erection of storied buildings have been considered.

Hydrological investigations

• The investigations in to the hydrological condition of 780-786 Pennant Hills Rd Carlingford, NSW 2118 indicated the following outcomes
• Up to 135 afflux of underground water
• Low risk of floods owing to the geographical terrain of the Sydney area
• Lack of significant increases in inundation
• Property may be at risk of flooding upstream but during torrential rains.

Environmental Investigations

The Preliminary Environmental Assessment (PEA) is a standard designed to identify the environmental constraints and risks related to developing parcels of land such as 780-786 Pennant Hills Rd Carlingford, NSW 2118. The standard also facilitates the development of the environmental approvals report and the terms of reference. The may also be used in future analysis of new or upgrade projects.

Establishment of public consultation strategy

The project sponsors encourage public participation and engaging the public during the feasibility study. It is for this reason that the there is a community engagement plan in place. The main objective of creating the plan in advance is to ensure that there is a comprehensive, well integrated and co-ordinated conceptual framework that will be the foundation of all decision making processes of the process except for the very sensitive areas. This will assist in determining the feasibility of the land and the acceptability of future developments on the land. The project analysts will continue to engage with the community so as to ensure that there is adequate information for the decision making process. Nonetheless, the initial project assessments indicate that there will be specific impacts in the community and the environment but this is expected to be discussed fully during public forums.

Indicative costs and benefits

The analysts uses a general contingency of 40%. This is because the indicative costs related to the process of procuring land is based on estimates. In addition they might be refined or revised later. It should therefore be taken that they are for comparative use in this assessment only. In addition, the estimated costs may fail to fully capture the true costs and therefore cannot be used during budgeting. The indicative alternative costs are compared with the expected value of the land overtime and the savings that accrue the land developer versus the `do-nothing’ scenario (Roberts, 2004, p 9997). Considering this was a specific analysis focused on the feasibility of the land, other possible advantages of were not considered. However, the final assessment indicated that the benefits of acquiring and developing the land fundamentally outweighed the probable and definite costs (Conroy &Berke 2004 p 1381).

Risks and Key Issues

After a successful completion of the initial feasibility study, the project stakeholders ad other interested parties held a private workshop dubbed the “value management, feasibility and risk identification forum. The main agenda of the workshop was to identify the key issues and risks that may affect the feasibility of 780-786 Pennant Hills Rd Carlingford, NSW 2118. The study also identifies the areas that need to be refined or improved. These include;

• Funding for the land development project
• Timing of the land acquisition process considering time that needs to be allocated to other project areas such as construction.
• The probability of the project being stopped prematurely due to errors in the cost-benefit analysis
• The impact on the existing amenities such as roads and segregation of new occupants by locals (Walmsley, 2006 p 252).
• The complexities of building street service lines
• Number of residential or commercial properties that can be erected on the parcel of land
• Maintenance of the environment surrounding the property as well as activity of other people in the community that may be a source of conflict. This includes the fauna, hydrology, waste management and water quality.
• Impact of traffic flow once land development begins
• Costs associated with reclaiming parts of the land where old buildings stand (Termorshuizen & Opam, 2009 p 1037).

Recommendations

Structural design

Since this was an analysis to test land feasibility for development purposes, there was limited information related to the structural design of the proposed structures to be constructed on the parcel of land. However it was important to have a structural model of the final project’s expected outcome for the determination of further developments. The additional infrastructural layouts for streets and roads should be considered. Further it will be important to conduct an additional investigation that would determine the vertical and the horizontal geometry of the proposed structures Vis a Vis the geographical conditions of the location. These investigations should be extended to the determination of hydraulic impact (Zhang et al, 2011 p 157).

Public Transport systems

Consultations with the relevant federal government agencies is imperative so as to determine the accessibility of the area and to ensure that future projects are not affected by transportation issues.

Land requirements

Consultations with the relevant authorities should be undertaken so as to determine the extent and quantity of available land and other options that may offer visible alternatives to the targeted land area.

Capacity

The Distinguished Urban Developments Pt should look for additional land around the primary target to allow it to add capacity. This may be done through merging segments blundering the property under express agreements or purchasing available land in the long-term (Shen et al, 2010 p 254).

Existing Services

A meeting with the Sydney water company and other local interested parties will help identify the existence and presence of previous installations such as water and sewerage systems, electricity lines, public recreation areas and public roads. Confirmation with the relevant service authorities is required to clarify relocation options for undergo (Peterea et al, 2014 p 01) und and aboveground installations. A detailed design of the proposed future projects is recommended. However, the assessment has not yet determined the relocation costs, alignments and quantities. Such a report will be prepared with other development partners.

Geotechnical analysis

It is important to conduct a geotechnical assessment before initiating the following phase. This is because the suitability and the availability of land will fundamentally affect the cost of developing the land. (Li et al, 2000 p 13)

Structures

An assessment of the structural requirements for the proposed project is required for the development and comparison of various structural development designs (Begum et al, 2006 p 86). These designs should be compared with the existing structures and other feasible structure types.

Hydrological and hydraulic investigations

The impact of underground water should be investigated to determine its effects on the existing structures and future structures. In addition, a simulation of the flooding events around Sydney should be used to investigate the risk of souring waters and the expected velocities where floods are experienced van (Schrojenstein., 2011p 35)

Environmental and soil investigations

This report recommends investigations of environmental factors such as;

• The acidity of soils
• Water quality in the area around Parratta
• Soil erosion and sediment deposits when there are heavy rains
• Noise assessment, including amenities that could be responsible for; loud noise.
• Air quality and weather monitoring including waste management assessment for waste generated in and around the construction area.
• A detailed assessment of the animal and the plant life around the property
• Visual impact analysis; and
• An assessment of the cultural heritage of the surrounding community.

Cost-Benefit analysis

The sensitivity analysis is recommended for the determination and refinement of rates and qualities.

Risk assessment

There should be necessary risk management controls. A thorough research is required to produce prudent risk assessment reports and generation of adequate risk management activities.

Process of obtaining council approval

Before Distinguished Urban Developments Pt can developing the land in New South Wales, an approval and concept in form of a compliance certificate is required. The compliance certificate covers a myriad of activities in land transactions including land subdivision, change of land use, building and construction of either public or private structures, demolition of existing buildings and construction of temporary entertainment structures. However, be applying for a compliance certificate, one is required to contact the council for the issuance of a planning certificate. The planning certificate carries important details such as easements, planning and heritage of the land and environmental restrictions.

The building and construction legislation in New South Wales recognizes three categories of developments. These include; Except development – for activities such as renovation work, or the so called `do-it-yourself’ work. Complying development entails the determination of whether the proposed project meets the standards required before the compliance certificate is issued. These are generally related to the basic metrics of height, length and width. The third category is the development consent which follows that land development proposals pass through the legal application process at the city council offices. A successful application will mean that the proposed development by Distinguished Urban Developments Pt is approved and the company may commence development of the property. However, this only means that the authorities agree that such a development can be implemented on such a parcel of land. The actual construction cannot commence in earnest before a construction certificate has been obtained. The construction certificate will be inforce until the completion of the project. Thereafter, council official will inspect the construction and then issue an occupation certificate where they are satisfied that all guidelines and standards have been met.

 

 

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