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Property development’s a long game. In this industry, a developer turning 10 is deemed an infant, considering most significant projects can take five years-plus to deliver from initial design to construction completion, and that’s not even taking into account site acquisition.
So, when a company such as Aqualand celebrates its 10th anniversary, industry veterans might consider it a ‘so what?’ moment.
But when you dig a little deeper and review what they’ve delivered in this short time, and what they have in planning, you soon see it’s a milestone worthy of celebration.
Hot on the heels of the opening of their landmark North Sydney precinct, AURA by Aqualand [pictured top], the company has now lodged the DA for its first build-to-rent project, while planning for the state-significant Central Barangaroo is steaming ahead.
With a range of other projects also in the pipeline, the Aqualand team is now taking a moment, albeit short, to stop and reflect, and appreciate how far they’ve come in a decade.
What managing director Jin Lin started in his parents’ garage 10 years ago, has grown to include a team of more than 120 at Aqualand and its independent investment and fund management arm, AL Capital, and more than 200 in its hospitality arm, Etymon Projects.
But growing in size has never been Aqualand’s objective. Nor is growing in location, with Sydney firmly set in their sights for now. According to Lin, it’s all about building for the future.
“We must respect the land. Respect the business. And respect the community. It’s only a one-time opportunity, not from an economic perspective, but in terms of developing beautiful buildings for future generations. For me, it’s about creating a legacy.
“By integrating our hospitality arm, Etymon Projects, and our own in-house construction team, Aqualand Construction, we want to focus on delivering the very highest quality products, and be a ‘one-stop-shop’,” he said.
And the company isn’t afraid to tackle difficult projects. Completed in 2021, BLUE at Lavender Bay perfectly showcased how adaptive reuse can transform an empty and outdated office tower into 125 contemporary luxury apartments, whilst improving the streetscape and retail offering, and providing benefits to the local community.
They have also transformed the eight-storey heritage-listed building, The REVY at Darling Island, into 44 luxury residences.
Both buildings were extremely complex and expensive to repurpose, making them less attractive propositions to most other developers.
It took tenacity, risk taking and negotiation, as well as moving at a certain phase of the market—that is, exercising patience—to make sense of the expenditure and justify the challenges.
But given Aqualand’s focus is firmly set on the future, we thought with their first decade down, we’d ask their senior leaders where they see the company in another 10 years.
Yes, of course, this involved a fair degree of crystal-balling in what is famously an unstable industry, but their responses provide an interesting insight into where they see themselves headed.
“Over the next 10 years, I see Aqualand remaining strongly community focused, while completing our North Sydney projects in planning, and of course, Central Barangaroo. We’ll also continue to mature as an integrated company and expand on our unique service offerings.
“Our aim is to create dynamic places and lifestyle-oriented communities that allow people to live better. We will continue to deliver projects of significant architectural merit that we hope in time will be viewed as some of the most iconic in Sydney.
“At the end of the day, we want to look back and see projects we are proud of, and that match our commitment to high-end, high-standard development.”
“Over the next decade, I see Aqualand growing from a boutique, mid-sized developer, to a $10-billion-plus company. We currently use our own equity and combine this with our construction and development capability to realise our funds together. We plan to combine AL Capital’s resources and capability to build a bigger scale for the entire group.
“AL Capital currently has its own hedge fund which invests locally and overseas to deliver investment returns for our clients. I see this growing to the $5-billion to $7-billion scale in the future, by working as a group, to grow the real estate funds. We’ll invest in more international projects in Hong Kong and Singapore, and expand when suitable. The overseas investment of our international fund will support our Australian fund. This international piece will grow our multibillion-dollar assets.
“We’ll achieve this while continuing to embrace diversity. We’re already a truly multicultural business with people from various backgrounds, with diversity in culture, gender and working background. We’ll use this diversity to drive productivity, while continuing to invest in sports, arts and culture, for the benefit of our local community.”
“I see Etymon Projects continuing to achieve Jin’s vision of delivering an integrated lifestyle for not just Aqualand’s residents but the broader community. This involves maintaining the model of Etymon and Aqualand joining together to provide more lifestyle offerings.
“Etymon will play a significant role in curating a bespoke offering tailored to meet the needs of the residents and neighbouring community. We’ll continue to deliver a quantum of world-class food and beverage venues, retail offerings and resident concierge services, and while the focus will be on quality, rather than quantity, we’ll expand our footprint in Sydney, including a suite of offerings at Central Barangaroo, while exploring offshore opportunities.
“To achieve this, we’ll continue to attract the highest calibre talent and ultimately remain a people business.”
“I can see Aqualand Constructions becoming akin to a tier-one builder, in terms of capability and capacity, but delivering only bespoke developments, from precincts such as Central Barangaroo, to standalone towers, such as AURA by Aqualand, down to smaller low-rise projects.
“Our construction team is involved in the project from the cradle to the grave, and we have the ability to seamlessly unlock the value on very complex sites and projects, like the adaptive reuse BLUE at Lavender Bay, and can manage and control this risk in-house.
“Our team comes from varied backgrounds, and this expertise gives us the ability to move and transact quickly. This will be an advantage over the next 10 years, while we replenish our workbook with new projects.
“Our in-house experience will keep us open to challenging sites that others will consider too difficult.”
“I see us firmly establishing our reputation as Sydney’s premier luxury lifestyle service provider, and by delivering projects that combine our passion for craftsmanship and quality, we will continue to fuel success.
“Projects such as AURA will act as our springboard into the future, creating a catalyst for our growth over the next decade and beyond. For us, selling an exceptional project such as AURA isn’t about persuasion, it’s about showcasing a lifestyle that sells itself—and this is something we will continue to do, especially with robust market demand for high-end residences.
“There’s no better way to show that Aqualand is not just a player but a leader in the luxury property market, both locally and globally.”
“The next decade will see Aqualand take advantage of new opportunities to grow and reach the next level in terms of our brand perspective. While we’ve already achieved so much, we’re still basically in our infancy. We want to be the leader in NSW for delivering luxury projects.
“From a design point of view, we’ll continue to attract and appoint the best architects you can find, which will see us becoming highly regarded internationally. The international architect we’re appointing for Central Barangaroo will see us deliver on a vision to bring to Sydney a new luxury lifestyle product which will set the path to success for the business’ future. We’ll be the one forging a new path to what lifestyle means in Australia.
“It’s incredibly exciting as we’re not a business that creates limits. We have a mindset of being new explorers. We’re not scared of innovation. We rethink everything and are here to break the rules and create our own destiny in providing a new sense of place for people to live, work and enjoy a new life in Sydney.”
The Urban Developer is proud to partner with Aqualand to deliver this article to you. In doing so, we can continue to publish our daily news, information, insights and opinion to you, our valued readers.
