The Hilton Hotel at Surfers Paradise (pictured), Darling Quarter in Sydney and The Beach House at Bondi Beach have won 2012 Urban Taskforce Development Excellence Awards.
The property development industry group the Urban Taskforce named the the Hilton Hotel and residences at Surfers Paradise (designed by the Buchan Group) by Brookfield Multiplex as the top project and development of the year.
"Even in difficult economic times there are excellent developments occurring around Australia," says Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson.
"Our jury under the chairmanship of Government Architect Peter Poulet found many excellent projects were entered in the awards this year and have come up with some quality projects as winners."
Jury chair Peter Poulet commented: "The Hilton Hotel is the result of a rescue package by ANZ and Brookfield Multiplex when a previous apartment block ran into financial difficulty and the partly built project needed someone to rethink its future.
“Brookfield Multiplex took on this enormous challenge and turned what could have been a symbol of failure into a massive confidence boost to the region."
"The bank kept their investment intact and a well-designed and innovative solution that provides a new concept in residential living has been constructed. Brookfield Multiplex took on the role of developer and of constructor to ensure costs were managed."
"The complex has an innovative balance of apartments, serviced apartments and hotel rooms all managed by Hilton.
The commercial category winner was Darling Quarter and Commonwealth Bank Place (designed by Aspect Studios with FJMT Architects) by Lend Lease.
"This is an excellent addition to Darling Harbour that is of the right scale, with large floor plates, a well-designed building with an innovative night time interactive lighting scheme and an amazing children's playground," says Peter Poulet.
"The building works brilliantly at ground level with many restaurants and a sense of enjoyment through the children's play area."
The Multiple Residential Award went to The Beach House at Bondi (Designed by architects MPR Design Group (MPR)) by Investec Property Limited.
"This project has all the quality one would expect at Bondi overlooking the beach. The retail arcade cleverly acts as a short cut to the beach and provides the entry to the apartments above. The project was well marketed and added value to the area."
The full list of winners of the Urban Taskforce Development Excellence Award 2012:
- Residential Apartment Development - Investec Property Limited for The Beach House, Bondi Beach.
- Commercial Development - Lend Lease for Darling Quarter & Commonwealth Bank Place.
- Retail Development - Coles Group Property Development for Coles Port Macquarie.
- Masterplanned Communities - McCloy Group for Northlakes Estate, Cameron Park, Port Macquarie.
- Employment Business Park Development - Lindsay Bennelong Developments for The Gore Hill Data Centre.
High Commendations Awards:
- Affordable Housing - Landcom and Australand for The Ponds.
- Adaptive Re-Use - Australand Property Group for The Gallery at Botanica.
Development of the Year 2012 Award is:
- Brookfield Multiplex for Hilton Surfers Paradise Hotel and Residence.
The panel of judges for the 2012 awards was:
- Peter Poulet: NSW Government Architect
- John Wynne: Director, Urbis
- John Ferrarin: Director, WT Partnership
- Carolyn Cummins: Commercial Property Editor, Sydney Morning Herald
- David Tanevski: Managing Director, KWC Capital Partners
