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This is independent editorial content written by a PropertyMash Journalist. While we try to ensure all information is as accurate as possible, please double check with the developer or real estate agent directly before making a purchasing decision. The information contained within this article may be incorrect or out of date.
Maasra is a building of 114 apartments over eight levels in Coorparoo. It features a large number of 3 & 4 bedroom apartments which indicates that it is pitched squarely at the owner occupier market.
It occupies a large site on the corner of St Leonards Street and Old Cleveland Road. The latter of these is one of the main roads that runs through the suburb. This is a busy spot in the heart of one of Brisbane’s fastest developing neighborhoods. Despite being in a busy location, buyers will find value in Maasra because it is so close to key facilities such Woolworths, Coles, gyms, cafes, bars and the new masterplanned Coorparoo Square development. In fact, being in a busy and central location is often the price that you pay to have top quality amenities within walking distance of your home.
UPDATE NOVEMBER 2019: Maasra have announced that they have customised an apartment to accommodate a specific customers wheelchair access needs. The developer states: “It is still possible to request slight variations be made in order to customise apartments to the unique or particular needs of purchasers, particularly those with accessibility needs”.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2019: Construction has officially commenced at Maasra as of the 9/9/2019.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2018: Maasra has recently announced plans for two ‘supersized’ family apartments that are designed to offer all the space and amenities of a traditional home. These new 186 sqm four-bedroom apartments include two master bedroom suites, two large bedrooms with walk-in wardrobes, a study, a multi-purpose room, a large laundry room, as well as a butler’s pantry in the kitchen. These apartments also have 32 sqm balconies with north-facing views, that are designed to fit an eight-seat dining table and a full outdoor lounge suite. They also have four side-by-side car parks, which is one more than the regular four-bedroom apartments. The inclusion of the new supersized four-bedroom apartments means that there are now only 104 apartments in the development. Prices start at $1,700,000.
Maasra offers a selection of one, two, three and four bedroom apartments. There are 114 apartments in total in this project, so buyers have plenty of different floorplans to choose from.
There are one bedroom apartments in the building. These are priced from $395,000 and are, on average, 65m² internally. which is about average size of new one bedroom apartments for sale in Brisbane at the moment. The two bedroom apartments at Maasra are priced from $575,000 to $640,000 and have two bathrooms. They span about 78m² internally. The balconies on these apartments are mostly 18m², but there are some two bedroom apartments on level one with larger balconies of 38m² and 44m². All two bedroom apartments come with two car parks, which is great because street parking in there area can be difficult at times. There are three bedroom apartments in the project which start from $775,000. These are some of the largest apartments in the project, from 92m² up to 102m². As with the two bedroom apartments, these come with two side by side car parks. Side by side carparks are always preferable to tandem (parking behind another car) so this is a plus for Maasra.
Maasra has been reconfigured recently (2018) to include more 4 bedroom apartments. With four-bedroom apartments comprising just 1.4% of Inner Brisbane’s total apartment supply, the developer has obviously seen a gap in the market and has reconfigured the project to fill this. Even though sales for new apartments in the Brisbane apartment market remain generally slow, there is strong demand for 3 & 4 bedroom apartments for owner occupiers so we think this is a wise change.
The best views at Maasra will definitely be from apartments on the northern side of the building. From level four, these apartments will get great views towards the city that are partially obstructed by Villanova College which sits on top of a hill sitting between Maasra and the City. This is the back side of the building, facing away from Old Cleveland road, so these apartments get the added bonus of reduced road noise. They also look out over character housing in suburban Coorparoo, so the likelihood of views getting built out is quite low, particularly on the higher levels. The outlook on the other side of the building will still be nice, with apartments overlooking the houses across the other side of Old Cleveland Road. There is also a setback in the building, which means that residents will see more of the Maasra pool than the main road and this should also act as somewhat of a sound buffer as well.
This project has some great amenity for residents. On level three there is a pool deck which features a 25m lap pool, sun deck, gym and BBQ. It is also worth mentioning the entrance hall here. The developer has clearly put in the effort to ensure that residents come home to a nice entry statement. It will also feature an ancient stone olive press from which Maasra Apartments gets its name, which is a unique and nice little point of differentiate for this building.
Something that we must also mention is the car parks. Most new apartment projects only provide one car park for two bedroom apartments, and a lack of parking spaces is sited as one of the most common complaints from residents and building managers. However, Maasra is a bit different. All one bedroom apartments have one car park, and all two and three bedroom apartments have two car parks. Most importantly for the four bedroom apartments, they come with three car parks, which, if you have children who drive their own cars (or about to), makes this the ideal situation.
There are several floor plans in the gallery below. One thing that we like about the floor plans is that there is a clear attempt to separate the bedrooms so that they are usually not side-by-side. Most developers in Brisbane are trying to do this now in order to make shared living within the apartment easier.
Construction has begun at Maasra, with the first stage of development — demolition — well underway. Please check back with us soon to find out more.
The sales display for this project is located on site at 220 Old Cleveland Road, Coorparoo. There is plenty of signage, so the office is clearly visible. There is also car parking out the front. The display suite is open from 10am to 4pm every day. Inside the sales display, you will see a model of the building and plenty of renders, as well as a fully decked out kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. There are examples of the finishes that are available on the walls as well.
Maasra is located at 214 Old Cleveland Road, Coorparoo. As we mentioned earlier, this project is located on a main road, so residents will have to live with a certain degree of road noise.
Coorparoo is a suburb located 4kms south-east of Brisbane. It is bordered by East Brisbane, Greenslopes, Camp Hill, Norman Park, Holland Park, Seven Hills and Carina Heights.
The most significant investment project to happen in Coorparoo for a long time recently completed construction just 500m away from Maasra. Coorparoo Square is a $232 million development that has 6,000m² of retail space, and is now a major hub in the area. Residents of Maasra will no doubt enjoy having these close by.
A potential downside of this is the influx of apartments that will be brought onto the market with the completion of Coorparoo Square (there are 360 apartments in the project). So those that are looking to invest should be aware that this additional supply of rental properties may cause short term fluctuations in rental value, but the long term value added by the project will be great.
Catching a bus from Maasra will be easy considering there is a bus stop right outside the building. Busses come along Old Cleveland Road quite frequently and a trip into the city takes around 20 minutes.
The Brisbane City Council began undertaking a renewal project in Coorparoo Creek Park in 2017. This is a long, thin park that begins right next to Maasra and slithers north towards the city. The project essentially involves creating a park. This is great because it will increase green space in the local area. As part of this project the council will provide benches, landscaped spaces and a shared bike and pedestrian path through the park.
For those who have young children, Coorparoo State School is a well respected Brisbane primary school. It is well within walking distance of this project, just 550m away on the other side of Old Cleveland Road. For young people walking to school this will take less than ten minutes.
In terms of secondary education, Villanova College is a large private school that is less than 500m from Maasra. Coorparoo Secondary College is also quite close. Residents of Maasra will be able to walk there in less than 20 minutes. Being roughly 5km from the CBD means that many other educational institutions are accessible from Maasra such as Brisbane Grammar School, All Hallows, QUT and UQ.
Coorparoo is one of Brisbane’s larger suburbs, both in terms of actual land size and population. Between the last two Census’, the population of this suburb increased by 9% – registering a population of almost 15,000 in 2011. The majority of households in Coorparoo are couples with children and the predominant age group 25-34 years. The median apartment price in the area is $415,000, a figure that has increased by 5% over the last 12 months. The median weekly rental value for apartments is $370.
Maasra is finished quite nicely, with a design that is clean and modern. The display suite has a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom on display which provides the perfect opportunity to inspect the quality of finishes yourself.
The kitchens have many of the features that are now standard in new apartments in Brisbane. There are 20mm stone bench tops and large, glossy tiles on the floor. The kitchens are well designed with a number of nice features such as soft close doors and cupboards, although the only cupboard in the kitchen is the pantry, everything else is drawers. All apartments at Maasra come fitted with ILVE cooktop, oven and dishwasher. The three bedroom configurations have larger kitchen appliances than the smaller apartments. Ducted air conditioning is standard throughout the building and each apartment has gas hot water. There are ceiling fans to some bedrooms at this project.
The bathrooms feature chrome tapware, towel rails and hooks. They also have stone benchtops that match the kitchen. The shower doors are frameless glass and there is cabinetry with mirrored doors as well as cupboards below the sink. Some of the larger apartments have couples sinks in the main bathroom.
Many of the apartments in this project will likely be sold as investment properties.
The expected weekly rental returns for each apartment type are as follows:
The body corporate rates at this project start at approximately $3,300 per annuam and go up from there. This is a substantial fee, however considering the size of the building and the fact that there is a lap pool, gym and sun deck it is likely justified and in-line with similar projects.
There will be on-site management at this project.
In Coorparoo, there are several new apartment projects currently on the market. Most notably is Coorparoo Square, which consists of about 360 apartments and is currently under construction. Ebony & Ivory is another project that is about 1km away from Maasra. This is a smaller project of just 40 apartments. It would be fair to say that the apartments at that project are a step below Maasra in terms of both quality and price.
Further up Old Cleveland Road in Greenslopes, there is a small pocket that has several other apartment projects including Lincoln On The Park, Stoneham and Oxy. We recommend reading our reviews on these projects to find out what they are about!
Maasra is being developed by Karam Group, which is a family owned development company with a 50 year history.
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