Arklife’s Third Brisbane BtR Project Greenlit

Brisbane build-to-rent developer Arklife will put shovels to dirt in the first half of 2024 after its third inner-city project was approved less than 12 months after filing plans with the Brisbane City Council. 

Arklife is ADCO Construction’s build-to-rent platform, and the builder-developer will build out the 31-storey tower on the 2781sq m site at 50 Constance Street, Fortitude Valley. 

The BVN-designed tower will comprise 327 residential apartments plus 1750sq m of office space and 680sq m of ground-floor retail. 

Arklife managing director Scott Ponton said the developer’s iterative learnings were embedded in the design for its third project, which responded to site and targeted demographics. 

“We’ve been working on it a while and we’re very excited about the project,” Ponton said.  

“The scheme is one that’s a bit different to what we’ve done previously. Constance will have larger apartments and bigger common areas.”

Ponton said while build-to-rent developments were primarily targeted at younger tenants, he was forecasting an older demographic at Constance. 

“We are expecting 15 to 17 per cent of residents to be families at Arklife Constance,” he said.  

“We would expect about 20 per cent to be over 35 and 80 per cent below 35. We have quite a wide aesthetic to cater to for a wide variety of people. 

“We are also including more work-from-home spaces because we don’t see that going away.”

▲ Arklife managing director Scott Ponton believes 20 per cent of the residents at Constance will be older than 35.

The project also includes a 25m rooftop pool. 

Earlier this year Arklife put its $800-million portfolio on the block to find an institutional partner to secure seed capital for its expansion into Sydney and Melbourne. 

The Urban Developer understands work is still under way to secure a financial backer for Arklife. 

Ponton told The Urban Developer he was confident in the future of the asset class. 

Ponton has no doubt that the growth in the sector will continue, as a stream if not a flood. 

“From a commercial investment thesis, residential has the strongest characteristics out of any of the subsectors of the property in the market in the medium to long term,” he said. 

“It’s one of the few markets in property where the tenant market is ever expanding … and there’s a long way to go before we satisfy it.”