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Construction is due to start in early 2017. Photo taken 20/10/2016.
Avion Residences is a project that will bring something completely new to Upper Mount Gravatt. It is a 15 storey twin tower project that is being developed by Raykong Property.
The design of the building makes it obvious that this is a project from an international developer and it looks more like something you would see in Melbourne’s inner city and not 12km out of Brisbane’s CBD. However, given Brisbane’s rapidly shifting demographics and housing needs, it is likely that this project will have lots of appeal in the local area. Particularly considering that Upper Mount Gravatt is cementing its reputation as a self-sustaining hub outside of Brisbane’s CBD and the fact that it has a huge (and rapidly growing) international population.
Avion Residences is located just off Logan Road and two minutes walk from Garden City shopping centre. This is a great location that is close to many shops, gyms, bars, transport and the Griffith University Nathan Campus.
The Project:
Given that this project is from an international developer, you’d be forgiven for assuming that the apartments are targeted to investors. Looking at the apartments in this building, it seems that this is not the case at all. There are only two and three bedroom apartments at Avion Residences and the smallest apartment in this project is 81m² – much larger than a two bedroom apartment targeted at investors in comparable suburbs such as Chermside, which are usually around 70m².
Living area render. Supplied by developer.
Two bedroom apartments make up the majority of apartments at Avion Residences. There are 122 of these, all of which have two bathrooms. Some of these also have a multi-purpose room and a powder room. These apartments range from 81m² to a very large 103m² and are priced from $439,000 to $570,000. There are 10 different two bedroom floor plans and each one has its pro’s and con’s. They are all different enough so that buyers should be able to find something that suits them. Some have features like separate laundries and study nooks. Some apartments have fully separated bedrooms, whilst other push the two bedrooms together. In apartments where the two bedrooms are pushed together, they are located further from the living room, which could potentially make the living area more usable, particularly for families. All bedrooms have natural light which is fantastic to see. The kitchens all have islands.
The remaining 52 apartments are three bedroom configurations. These range from 112m² to an again very large 142m² in total, and are priced from $609,000 to $688,000. To put this into perspective at 142m² these 3 bedroom apartments are as large as many $1+ million apartments you will find around Brisbane at the moment, so on a rate poer sqm they offer excellent value. The 3 bedroom apartments feature many of the same design elements as the two bedrooms apartments. All of the bedrooms have natural light and the apartments have large kitchens and living areas.
Kitchen and living render. Supplied by developer.
It is worth mentioning that all apartments on level two have large terraces that range from 49m² to 84m² which look like the would be a great space for entertaining or just relaxing.
On the ground floor of this building, there are four retail tenancies that are yet to be tenanted. There are also two office tenancies on level one. There are no residential apartments on the level that the office tenancies are on.
Ground floor render. Supplied by developer.
Each two bedroom apartment at Avion Residences has a single car park, whilst the three bedroom apartments have double tandem car parking. There are 24 x visitor car parks as well as parking for the commercial and retail spaces. It is worth mentioning that street parking around this project will be quite difficult for residents as it is a very busy area.
The lap pool – one half of the rooftop amenities at Avion Residences. Supplied by developer.
Avion Residences is set apart from a lot of other projects, particularly in this region of Brisbane, by its amenity. Resident facilities are located on the top level of each building and they are connected by a sky bridge to allow easy access between them. One building has a lap pool and pool deck on top, whilst the other building has a communal BBQ area, communal dining area and an outdoor theatre.
The sky bridge is reminiscent of many of the World’s most iconic buildings and is a real novelty for Brisbane. Think Malaysia’s Petronas Towers or Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands! Avion may not exactly be in that league but you get the idea, it will make this building unique in the Brisbane market and certainly a notable landmark for years to come.
Petronas Towers in Malaysia
Marina Bay Sands in Singapore
The overall design and layout of the amenity area is impressive and should be a standout for the building. We would also expect some amazing views of the City and surround suburbs as well.
Avion outdoor cinema. Supplied by developer.
As we mentioned above, there are a wide selection of floorplans available at Avion. So you have a nice selection of styles to suite your purchasing needs. There are floorplans with the bedrooms separated (ideal for investors) and ones with the bedrooms grouped together (better for owner occupiers).
Location:
Avion Residences is located at 7-15 Cremin Street, Upper Mount Gravatt.
This location is great for people who want to be close to shops, transport, schools and hospitals. It is also just off Logan Road which is a major arterial road, so residents can expect some noise and activity.
Westfield Garden City as seen from the end of Cremin Street. Photo taken 20/10/2016.
It is just 400m from Westfield Garden City which has over 400 specialty stores. Westfield Garden City is also home to the Upper Mount Gravatt Bus Stop. This is a major interchange that offers services across Brisbane to places like the CBD, Roma Street, UQ, Eight Mile Plains and more. A trip from here to the city by bus takes about 40 minutes, whilst a trip to UQ takes half an hour. A bus ride to Griffith University’s Nathan Campus takes just 20 minutes and these services leave every nine minutes from Garden City.
Griffith University’s Nathan Campus is just 5km from Avion Residences. This is Griffith’s main campus where many thousand’s students study.
In terms of primary and secondary education, there are eight schools within a few kilometers of Avion Residences. These are Clairaux Mackillop College, Mount Gravatt State School, Mount Gravatt State High School, Macgregor State High School, St Bernard’s Catholic School, St Agnes Catholic Primary College, Mount Gravatt East State School and Wishart State School.
As well as Garden City, which is one of Brisbane’s largest shopping centres, there is The Village Shopping Centre (just 500m from Avion), as well as the Mount Gravatt Homemaker Centre which is close by.
Avion is also close to two hospitals – the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital and Sunnybank Private Hospital.
Quality and Finishes:
The finishes at Avion are a pretty high standard and the internal design is pretty cool. There has been a lot of thought put into the design of Avion and you an see this in both the exterior and interior. In fact we think that the design of this project is similar to a lot of projects that are coming out of Melbourne at the moment, which is a compliment.
Black fittings are a feature of this project. Photo taken in sales display 20/10/2016.
One of the features we mean that is a ‘Melbourne’ thing, which is really all about boutique apartment design, is the use of black tapware. This can be seen in the kitchen sink as well as the bathroom and shower. There are one or two projects doing this around Brisbane at the moment, but it is done with much more tastefulness at Avion. It is definitely the flavour of the moment, but we think that the way it is done here won’t date as badly as some other projects we have seen.
Photo taken in sales display 20/10/2016.
The appliances in this project are all Bosch which is pretty standard in this price range. This includes fridge, gas cooktop and oven. The kitchen benchtop is a step above the majority of other benchtops in Brisbane. It is a slightly thicker stone that ‘waterfalls’ all the way to the ground on both sides. This is usually seen in more expensive apartments than these and is a nice touch.
Flooring and waterfall stone benchtop. Photo taken in sales display 20/10/2016.
The flooring in the apartments is a timber-look vinyl floor. Again this is very much the flavour of the moment.
These apartments have ducted air conditioning throughout.
As with most new projects in Brisbane, buyers at Avion Residences can choose between two colour schemes. They are called Daybreak and Twilight at Avion.
Twilight Scheme. Photo taken in sales display 20/10/2016.
Daybreak Scheme. Photo taken in sales display 20/10/2016.
For investors, the sales agents at this project are currently offering a two year rental guarantee at 5%, as well as a blinds package. Bear in mind that rental guarantees are net figures, so body corporate and management fees are still payable and should be factored into your budget.
In terms of rental values, the Developer expects that two bedroom apartments at Avion Residences will rent for $450 to $470 per week. Three bedroom apartments are expected to rent between $530 and $560 per week.
The body corporate rates at Avion Residences are generally in line with what you would expect for a project of this size and with this amenity. The yearly fees range from $3,400 to $4,700.
There is onsite management available for this project.
Local Competition:
There are a fair few new projects currently under construction in Upper Mount Gravatt, close to Avion Residences. Avion definitely stands out because it has larger apartments with a higher level of finish and more extensive amenity. Some other projects in the area include Sky Gardens (which is next door to Avion Residences), Vision on Norton and 90 Norton Street (both on Norton Street), 54 Tyron Street and 16 Archer Street.
The developer of Avion Residences is Raykong Property. This is a privately owned Chinese based development company that was founded in 2002. To date, Raykong Property has developed close to $500 million worth of residential and commercial projects. The majority of their projects are in China. Avion is their only Australian project at the moment.
A builder has not yet been appointed for this project.
Sales Display & Contacts:
Avion Display Suite Entry
There is a great display onsite for Avion Residences. This display is well worth a visit and has a dedicated car park for visitors. It is open from 10am to 4pm daily.
Avion Display Model
Inside the sales display, there is a fully built kitchen and bathroom that will give prospective buyers a good idea of what the finished product will look like. There is also a model of the building.
Avion Display Suite – Kitchen
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