Melbourne developer Yourland has again teamed with Japanese telco giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) Urban Development Corporation is pushing ahead on an 1300 all-electric housing estate at Fraser Rise, 24 kilometres west of the Melbourne CBD.
The project to be known as Society 1056, is pitched at attracting social and environmentally conscious buyers seeking a sustainable communities option.
YourLand’s chief operating officer Dean Gold said the project aims to reduce the urban heat island effect and provide a cooler neighbourhood to live in.
He said that residents could expect to save more than $3000 a year living in the development. “And that’s without doing anything different and not over and above. So long term it’s going to be arguably cheaper to live in our project.” said Gold.
The project will offer an array of around 38 key sustainability initiatives.
The 5 kilowatts solar panels on each house alone are expected to save 8000 tonnes of C02 a year which is equivalent of taking 1600 cars off the road. Most notably, the shade and natural cooling are due to leave the estate up to 7 degrees cooler than surrounding area.
Key features of the development include:
- streets designed to accommodate local bus routes
- streets designed to capture and redirect rainwater for irrigation
- light pigmented roads and planted shadeways to reduce summer temperatures
- rainwater tanks to reduce reliance on mains water to create resilience during summer
- rebates on 5kW solar panels for over 1000 homes on site
- savings of over $3000 a year for a 6-star NatHERS home
- public school and a community centre
- more than four trees will be planted for every home, meaning there will be a canopy of over 5200 trees
- pollination corridor to encourage biodiversity in the area
- 100 per cent green power
- sales office and infrastructure will be built with recycled materials and low-carbon alternatives with environmentally sustainable design
- maximised solar orientation
- standalone house owners will get free landscaping
- environmental initiatives will be assessed by independent environmental consultants
- connecting walking and bikes tracks
Expected average savings are expected to be:
- a significant $30 to $70 a year for each degree of cooling achieved
- almost $500 a year by eliminating gas connections
- over $800 a year thanks to 6-star electric homes
- over $1800 a year or more than 75 per cent off annual energy bills from solar energy for 7-star homes
- around $20 a year rainwater tanks
Estimated carbon savings
| Tree planting | About 235,800kg |
| Low Carbon Concrete | About 700,000kg |
| Asphalt mix | About 445,000kg |
| Solar panel systems | About 28,000,000kg |
Among the biggest challenges in the project has been “getting everybody else on board and see a better way to do things” according to Dean Gold.
“Success for this project will be us setting a new benchmark that everybody else follows. We’re happy to be the ones that must smash through those boundaries to make it easy for everybody else to follow.
“We’re not doing it for some commercial competitive advantage that’s going to set us apart from everybody else. True success will be after we’ve done this project and it’ll be the industry benchmark for others.”
Gold said, “We’re trying to remove all those barriers for them to just make this the new normal. It’s a better way of living. So, without even using the word sustainability, you’ll be fitter because we’re encouraging you to walk. We’re encouraging you to walk in summertime under the nice cool tree canopies. You’ll be happier because you’ll relate to your neighbours”
Launched in 2009, YourLand is a residential development company that claims to focus on innovation, inclusivity, and environmental stewardship in its projects.
The company, which launched in Bendigo, has more than 20 current and future projects in its pipeline.
Yourland worked with NTT as a capital partner in the company’s previous project at 915 Donnybrook Road, previously a 76 hectare dairy farm and cheese factory.
The local council has approved the first stages of the development. The masterplan has been designed by consultants Spiire Melbourne.
The sales program will start in spring with prices of properties still to be revealed with development expected to complete in the next ten years.