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Park Hill Village Collection is a complex of 60 x three (3) and four (4) bedroom terrace homes which start from $599,000 to buy. The complex sits on an elevated position in Murarrie, a formerly industrial district east of the CBD and south of the Brisbane River. It is walking distance to Cannon Hill Plaza and to the planned East Village development.
Stage one is currently under construction as of writing, but we were able to get a look at one of the first newly-constructed terrace homes in the complex. The first stage will see 36 homes being built.
The Park Hill Village Collection terrace homes all are 3 level walk are buildings with your own freehold title. You get therefore your own front gate on some of these homes and even a small little area of grass (it is small – think just a few metres) but all the same, it is freehold title. Consequently you don’t have shared walls, which is a big positive and really differentiates this project from your older style townhouses development that many of you would be familiar with.
The Project is being built out over 3 stages over a large site that sites beside the original Mirvac Park Hill Village site. This residential house and land estate, finished around 10 years ago, consists of new brick and tile homes of generally a pretty high standard. So you will be surrounded by traditional houses, with no apartment complex’s within site.
The homes are quite large, with internal space ranges from 141m² to 156m², with good sized primary balconies and often a number of small ‘nook’ balconies that are great for opening up your living spaces. Most homes have two space garages, except for floorplan “B”, which has a carport and single garage and floorplan “A” which has a tandem double garage.
All the driveways are accessible from the looping road that comes off Governor Terrace which makes access very easy. The homes that back onto Governor Terrace all have excellent views of the CBD that cannot be built out and also have there own private front door entry, which is another really nice little feature. We think it is little things like this that really differentiate the whole estate from the old school townhouse style development, providing a high density of living but without compromising some of the benefits of living in a traditional home.
Of course the homes along Governor Terrace will have great views, but will look west so you will capture the western sun, which can be harsh in Brisbane in summer. The Developer has implemented a number of shading techniques in the architecture but you will still require blinds and the like to assist with this.
Regular readers of our reviews will know how much we love designs that facilitate open air flow within a home. In a sub-tropical climate likes Brisbane we think this is just so important for livability, as well as being an effective way to reduce your power bill. In this respect Park Hill Village Collection designs excel. There are ample windows and balconies throughout that easily provide the opportunity to open up your home and capture the breezes that blow in from the Bay and the Brisbane River. On the day of our visit there was a lovely breeze blowing in from the east which was really refreshing. If this is consistent, and with its elevation and location we have no reason to think that it wouldn’t be, there will be plenty of opportunities to open up your home and relax with natural breezes cooling your home, rather than having to run the ducted air-conditioning.
Raised Feature Tree
One of the distinguishing features of the project is the large Fig that is being retained in the centre of the estate, and which is actually above ground now as the site is excavated. This is an impressive feature and will work very well in breaking up the visual landscape – meaning that your eye won’t be naturally drawn to the homes on the other side of the estate, but will rather be drawn to the tree. These may seem all small things, but they help in changing the whole sense of your living space, making the estate fee far less dense as a result.
Common areas will have CCTV security installed.
Outline of Park Hill Village Stage One
Residents who need space or want to take their kids to the park will find that the neighbouring parkland almost blends into the development, with a direct pathway there from the BBQ area. The park has a playground as well as space to run around or play sports.
More indoors-orientated residents will find the gymnasium useful, and the second stage will have a swimming pool and additional visitor parking with the rest of the homes. The date of when construction of stage two starts is not yet known.
There are four different floorplans to choose from, each with open living on the middle floor. The top floor is dedicated to bedrooms, while laundry and storage is on the ground, along with the cars. The four-bedroom houses have a spare bedroom on the ground floor, which can be converted to a multi-purpose if needed.
Southwards View Along Governor Terrace
Park Hill Village Collection is on 19 Governor Terrace, on the residential side of Lytton Road. The neighbourhood is a mix of new upmarket properties, and classic Queenslander-style homes.
The complex is notably close to Murarrie’s industrial areas, which are easy access to Brisbane Airport and to the Port of Brisbane. These are major employment nodes, which will drive local demand for housing. Road traffic along Lytton Rd can be busy, however it was only a low hum when we were there, and any overhead flights shouldn’t be loud enough to become a nuisance. It is worth noting that an additional runway is planned for the airport as well, which will presumably increase air traffic capacity.
Westward View towards the City
As mentioned above, all of the houses that are on the southern side will have great views of the suburbs and parklands, while western houses get the panoramic view of the city and surrounding hills. As the project is on an elevated location, the view should never be built out.
East Village Construction Site
Cannon Hill is within walking distance southwards along Creek Road, where you can find East Village Shopping Centre (under construction) and Cannon Hill Plaza. Further south is the proposed site of the Cannon Hill Golf Course which will most likely be nearing completion by stage two of this project.
Murarrie has a population of 3,958 according to the 2011 census, with an average age of 34. According to Urbis, the median house sale price (for a new house) in Murarrie is $851,500 from March 2016, while price growth is estimated to be at 6.9% per year. Average household incomes are $94,667 in the Murarrie catchment, with 38% of workers in professional jobs.
The suburb has been booming of late, thanks to the job supply from the industrial areas and development of surrounding suburbs. Both Murarrie and Cannon Hill are in the process of changing from traditional residential suburbs, into mixed-use suburbs with shopping and retail.
Park Hill Village Collection has very warm and homely terrace homes, with a mixture of bamboo and carpet flooring. Both the bamboo floors and hardwood stairs have a rough-yet-refined appeal, while the carpet is always a welcome addition to bedrooms and hallways.
Walk-in Robe
The spacious walk-in robes have plenty of walking space, and allow natural light to make it’s way through via the window at the end. All bedrooms have built-in wardrobes with sliding doors, but unfortunately the C series floorplans don’t have the same walk-in robe of the master bedroom, replaced with a three door wardrobe.
The terrace homes come with three different colour schemes to choose from; Allure, Serenity, and Tranquil. They are quite similar to each other, which works well to keep the consistency of the different homes.
Photo of Kitchen
The entertainers kitchen is large and well designed. It is designed to flow through to the dining room by remaining open, and allowing residents to use the waterfall island as additional cooking or serving space. The kitchen includes soft close doors, Miele appliances, gas cook-tops and great storage. The overhead cabinetry above the stove i offers a bit of a contrast which may look out of place to some or as an interesting contrast for others. All in all we were impressed with the kitchen. It look functional and very open and airy.
All apartments have ducted air conditioning.
Photo of Feature Divider
The artistic privacy wall dividing the stairs from the living makes a practical statement acting as both a functional balustrade, and a visually appealing divider. This also helps to close off an already quite large space. On the first floor of each apartment, there is storage under the staircase. All houses have a study nook in the living room and wiring for the NBN, but the four-bedroom houses have an extra nook on the top floor.
Main bathrooms have a glassed-off area where both the shower and bath are located behind a single glass door which is quite distinctive. We are not sure it will appeal to everyone but it is definitely a different approach. The feature tile also matches the bath tiles, which brings both pieces together. The en-suites have his-and-hers sinks along with a shower.
The apartments all have Rinnai instant gas hot water systems, allowing for warm water at the turn of a tap. This is an additional luxury for those who want to take a bath, but are concerned about wasting water.
Bedrooms are spacious and, as previously mentioned, are carpeted. Some floorplans also have balcony access from the bedrooms, but as the master bedroom is on the top floor it doesn’t have its own balcony. The balconies have planters and ceiling fans with a wooden ceiling which adds a further touch of class.
Fly-screens come standard with each apartment, which is almost vital for how close they are to the Brisbane River (mosquitoes love water). Doors are also protected by Crimsafe mesh doors, which adds a sense of security.
The nearest bus-stop is on Creek Road and services the 590 line to Toombul, Carindale, and Garden City. There are also two train stations (Murarrie and Cannon Hill) which are both about 20 minutes from the city.
The nearest schools are Cannon Hill Anglican College, Balmoral State High School, Cannon Hill State School, or St Oliver Plunkett Primary School. There is a GoodStart Early Learning to the north which is suitable for young children up to 5-years-old.
Supermarkets and retail can be easily found at Cannon Hill Plaza, which has a Coles, Woolworths, K-mart, and plenty of other specialty stores. The plaza will also be rivalled by East Village, a proposed mixed-use area to be built opposite the plaza.
Westfield Carindale is about a 10-minutes drive south along Creek Road, and has plenty of retail outlets, a gym, and a cinema. It is also notable for having one of the few ‘Apple Stores’ in Queensland.
Rents for a three-bedroom are $560-$590 per week, or $650-$690 for a four-bedroom. Body corporate fees are $2028 per year for a three-bedroom, and $2340 for a four-bedroom, which are fairly affordable overall.
When considering the competition to Park Hill Village Collection we need to consider both traditional homes and apartments. If you want a brand new home, then you probably need to consider either a traditional townhouse development or an apartment project in the Murarrie or Cannon Hill area.
The nearest apartment competition would be down at Cannon Hill, where plenty of new developments are proposed to take place, or have already completed construction. These projects may be closer to the train station, but would not share the view of the city or proximity to the river. Cannon Hill projects include Ancassa, Thornhill, Sienna, and Ten57. Some of these projects will experience more traffic noise than Park Hill Village Collection.
The real competition may come from East Village, a mixed-use apartment complex which has only recently been approved. It will however most lively be noisier however and have smaller residences, but be closer to all of the amenity and services in Cannon Hill.
Park Hill Village Collection is being developed by Juxgold Group, who have previously worked on East Village (still under construction), The Barracks, and Park Hill Village (19 Cooper Street). Many of their projects have been either master-plans or village-style estates much like Park Hill Village.
The displays are the current houses on-site and inspections are by appointment only.
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