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UPDATE JULY 2018: Circa Nundah 3 is now under construction. One and two-bedroom apartments available from $392,000.
Circa Three is the final stage of the $270 million Circa Nundah Village Precinct, developed by Property Solutions. The Circa Nundah Village Precinct has been a very successful project in terms of sales and industry accolades, with the precinct recently declared Australia’s best urban renewal project by the Urban Development Institute of Australia. As the final stage. buyers at Circa Three will immediately benefit from all of the recently added amenity in the area, as well as the pre-existing ‘village’ feel of the precinct.
The building itself is nine levels high and consists of 120 apartments. A residents lap pool and sky lounge will be included in this project. Access to these areas will be available to residents of Circa One and Circa Dos, the first two residential stages in this precinct.
When Property Mash visited the development on 21 July 2016, the basement had already been dug out and concreted. Reportedly this was done during the construction phase of Circa Dos which is next door to Circa Three. Construction on the remainder of the building is due to begin in October 2016 and is expected to take 12 months.
Circa Three is a 120 apartment complex, consisting of only one (1) and two (2) bedroom apartments.
The one (1) bedroom apartments are priced from $370,000 to $390,000. These units range from 50m2 to 55m2 internally and balconies are between 10m2 and 15m2.
The two (2) bedroom apartments are priced from $470,000 to $560,000. These units span between 78m2 and 85m2 internally. The balconies on the two (2) bedroom apartments also range from 10m2 to 15m2.
There is a landscaped area on the podium level between Circa Three and Circa Dos that has a pool, BBQ facilities and several break out areas for residents use. Also, on level 8 of Circa Three is a sky lounge that will be a nice area for entertaining and functions.
On the ground floor of the building, there are six retail tenancies. Three of these are quite large, whilst the others are smaller. It is likely that the smaller tenancies will be food outlets and it is possible that one of the larger tenancies will be a child care centre, although no leases have been finalised at this stage.
Secure basement levels provide car parking in this building. Each apartment at Circa Three comes with a single car park.
Location:
One of the major selling points of Circa Three is its location in the middle of Circa Nundah Village. This precinct is at the tail end of a massive urban renewal that has brought retail, dining, entertainment and services to the area. Some of the major draw cards of the new Nundah Village is Queensland’s largest Go Health Club, Primal Pantry, King of Cakes and the newly redeveloped pub The Royal (formerly The Royal English Hotel). Residents of Circa Three will be walking distance from all of these amenities and more.
The Nundah Village redevelopment was a massive undertaking for the developer, Property Solutions. The addition of retail, residential and several thousand square metres of commercial offices has really transformed the area into a thriving hub.
Model of the new buildings in the Circa Nundah Village project. Photo taken onsite 20/07/2016.
Part of Nundah Village is also pre-established village hub that has a range of stores and services surrounding the Circa Nundah Village Precinct. There is a Woolworths, Farmer’s Market, Australia Post and several boutique stores and cafes. This is a small hub that really has a good community feel to it. This is enhanced by the restricted traffic conditions in the area.
Circa Three is approximately 100m from Nundah Train Station. The Ipswich, Cleveland, Shorncliffe and Cleveland Lines run from this station. A trip into Central Station from Nundah Station takes 16 minutes and trains leave every 9 minutes, so it is a very easy and convenient commute to work.
There are several schools in the local area. Just 1.5km from Circa are three schools – St Joseph’s Nundah, Nundah Primary and Mary Mackillop College. Also, given that ease of access to train travel, schools in the city and near train stations are an easy option. These would include secondary private schools in the city such as Brisbane Grammar School, Gregory Terrace, All Hallows and others.
At the 2011 Census, the population of Nundah was 10,392 people. This figure had increased by 25% since the previous Census in 2006. This is quite substantial population growth that is consistent with inner city urban renewal regions. Couples with no children are the predominant housing type in Nundah, making up 26.7% of all households. However, a further 26% of households in the area are couples with children. The median unit price in Nundah is $415,000, a figure that has increased by 4% over the past 12 months. The suburbs median rent for an apartment is $390 per week.
Quality and Finishes:
There is a display suite at Circa Three that has an example of what the kitchens inside the apartments will look like. There are also two finishes boards displaying the inclusions of the light and dark colour schemes.
The finishes in the kitchen are quite standard for new apartment buildings across Brisbane in this price range. The bench tops are 20mm reconstituted stone and the kitchen splash back is glass. There is just a single sink which may be a hindrance to families. The appliances are all Artusi. This includes the dishwhaser, oven and four burner gas cook top. The cabinetry is glossy white laminate. The kitchens are tiled, whilst the rest of the living area is carpeted.
Photo of the kitchen inside the display unit. This kitchen is in the light colour scheme. Photo taken onsite 20/07/2016.
Render of the kitchen in the dark colour scheme. Supplied by developer.
Some other features of these apartments that are quite good include ducted air conditioning in the living area and all bedrooms and separate laundries.
Render of the bathroom in a dark colour scheme. Supplied by developer.
Rental appraisals are available for Circa Three. However, a better indicator of what rental value investors are likely to achieve can be gleaned from how the other buildings in the Circa Nundah Village precinct are performing. These buildings are all similar to Circa Three and were developed by the same company.
According to the Sales & Marketing Manager from Property Solutions, Craig Wright, one (1) bedroom apartments in these buildings are achieving weekly rents between $370 and $410. Two (2) bedroom apartments are renting for between $470 and $560 per week. Also, there is currently 0% vacancy in the precinct and the last building that was built had 80% of all rental apartments tenanted before completion of the building. This shows that there is a solid rental market in this precinct now, which is a credit to the area because this was not the case a few years ago when the masterplan was in its early stages.
At the moment there are two different incentive packages available for buyers at Circa Three. First home buyers will receive a stamp duty concession, blinds package and they will have the $15,000 Great Start Grant matched by the developer. For investors, the developer is offering to pay 50% of stamp duty, a 3 month rental guarantee and a blinds package.
The local competition to Circa Three would be Vivir, and Village Central. Both of which offer almost the same exact location and access to shopping and dining. Other competitors would be Arlington, Eighteen, or 15 Eton Street, which are located in a more suburban area for those who may prefer less road noise.
However, Circa Three offers better access to the other Circa buildings as well as the train station. We have yet to see what is being offered as incentives by the developers of the competition too.
Circa Three is being developed by Property Solutions, who have undertaken the redevelopment of the whole Circa Nundah Village precinct. This company is very experiencde with larger urban renewal projects and is without doubt one of Brisbane’s premier developers in this regard. Some major projects of theirs around Brisbane include The Barracks, Centro on James at James Street and SW1 at South Bank – in short, they have a proven track record of excellence.
The builder for Circa Three is Hutchinson Builders which is one of Australia’s oldest, largest and most well-established construction companies.
There is a small sales display suite located at 24 Station Street Nundah, across the road from the development site. In the display suite is a model of the Nundah Village masterplan, a fully constructed kitchen and finishes boards. Visits to the display are by appointment only through Property Solutions.
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