Golden Sedayu is preparing to start construction on the long-awaited Belmont Park precinct.
Those who include Graham Farmer Freeway in their daily commute might have noticed the presence of a new, modest structure on the outskirts of Belmont Racecourse.
The small building, erected in February this year, is the culmination of more than a decade’s work by Indonesia-backed Golden Group.
It is the sales office for the first stage of the company’s $4 billion Burswood Point project, considered one of the most ambitious mixed-use projects in the country.
The proposed development is set to include 4,500 dwellings, 31,000 square metres of retail, and 60,000sqm of office space over four precincts.
The project has been percolating since 2011 when Golden Group became interested in the land.
The developer finalised a deal to purchase the land in 2013 in a deal with longtime landholder Perth Racing.
Golden Group formed a joint venture with property development giant Agung Sedayu in 2021, with the Jakarta-based entity to chip in a significant chunk of the equity for the Belmont project.
Progress to date has been slow, with complexities surrounding the development compounded by the pandemic in recent years.
Civil works began in 2019 following a groundbreaking ceremony in 2018.
The partnership with Agung Sedayu has accelerated the pace of work at Burswood Point, with Golden Sedayu set to pull the trigger on construction in early 2025.
Golden Sedayu managing director Andrew Sugiaputra told Business News close to $200 million had been spent to date.
“Now that the forward works are completed, the subdivision is currently progressing,” he said.
“The subdivision on the north part should be completed by [first quarter] 2025.”
This will clear the way for construction of the luxury townhomes, which were approved in September last year.
The company is deviating slightly from the development approval for 74 townhouses by increasing the lot sizes and reducing the number of homes to 68.
Golden Sedayu is set to build the homes under its own brand.
“We have the capacity now to build it ourselves,” Mr Sugiaputra explained.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have a very strong partner, [who is] well experienced back in Indonesia.
“Our partner has built townships, they’ve built high rises, shopping centres, hotels.”
Agung Sedayu owns Langham Hotels and Resorts in Jakarta and the premium Ashta shopping district, and has built thousands of dwellings across Indonesia.
Plans for a 17- and a 25-storey tower in the Belmont Park precinct were approved earlier this year. Image: DKO Architecture
Landgate records show that Golden Sedayu Pty Ltd bought the land from Golden Group entity Golden River Developments in April 2021 for $26.95 million.
Golden River Developments initially purchased the 38-hectare site in 2013 and delayed plans to launch its project in 2015 due to market conditions at the time.
Mr Sugiaputra is upbeat about the current level of interest from potential buyers in the project, with more than $100 million of presales achieved to date.
The sales are across Golden Sedayu’s townhouses, which Mr Sugiaputra prefers to call villas by way of the fact they are green titled, and apartments in the south-east precinct of the park.
Mr Sugiaputra said the company was not reliant on presales for the project, given Agung Sedayu’s financial backing.
“In terms of timing, we’re only waiting for our own site to be readily accessible,” he said.
“There’s just that much work going around the apartment towers now that we can’t really access it until those works are completed, so we’re just waiting for that.
“Being private allows us that flexibility to sort of crank up the pace of the development, which we’re doing now.”
Civil contractors have brought in 300,000 cubic metres of sand to service the northern precinct of the development, a task that required 250 trucks a day over six months.
Power lines and sewerage infrastructure have also been installed, including a nine-metre-deep underground waste pump station.
Mr Sugiaputra said Golden Group and Agung Sedayu, both family businesses, decided to unite over Burswood during COVID.
“We’ve known the family for quite some time. … and it just so happened that during COVID, our families were stuck in Singapore,” he said.
“We ended up discussing and asking each other what was happening in our line of work, and we started from there really.
“They have been a very, very good partner … well experienced with the firepower as well.”
Planning
In February, a $150 million two-tower apartment development was approved in Belmont Park, including 200 high-end dwellings.
The group has already sold 40 per cent of the 93 units in the first of the two towers, which is planned for 17 storeys.
The second tower, at 25 storeys, is planned to include 107 apartments.
The DKO Architecture-designed structures were approved at a Metro Inner-South Joint Development Assessment Panel at the Town of Victoria Park, with just one councillor dissenting.
Element Advisory, which prepared the planning documentation for the $150 million project and $72 million townhouses, commented on the technicalities associated with building on the site.
Amenity at the two-tower initial apartment stage of the development. Image: DKO Architecture
As the development application was lodged, it exceeded the 19-storey height limit for the area, but Element planning associate Callum Thatcher said the buildings were designed in such a way to avoid being a “wall of mass”.
Element director and strategic counsel David Read addressed concerns about potential soil contamination, raising the need for geotechnical work to be carried out.
“This site isn’t contaminated ... but there’s some acid sulfate soil we need to deal with,” Mr Read said.
“There is a whole lot of geotechnical work we need to do. It’s like building on toothpaste.”
Mr Sugiaputra acknowledged there were some issues with soil stability on the site, but time and money had been invested in ensuring the land was ready for development.
Golden Sedayu engaged global ground improvement specialist Menard to conduct the soil stabilisation work, the same company used to stabilise the ground around nearby Optus Stadium.
“If you divide the site in half, half of it is actually really good soil, which is the Bassendean sand formation, and then the other half are soft soils … we had to stabilise that part of the land,” Mr Sugiaputra said.
“The stabilisation method that we used is the best, the most expensive. However, it is the safest.”
Golden Group received development approval for two towers of 32 and 37 storeys in 2019, comprising 463 apartments.
The towers, in the southern part of the park, are set to include a more affordable product, but aren’t likely to be built until the 17- and 25-storey buildings are complete.
These larger towers may undergo redesigns closer to their planned construction, which could mean further planning approvals are needed.
In the course of owning the site, Golden Group has commissioned a local structure plan, local development plan, subdivision plan and several development applications.
The company has also worked very closely with government, particularly on the transport infrastructure surrounding the site.
Consultation with Main Roads has led to a planned multi-milliondollar upgrade to Burswood interchange to limit disruptions to the public resulting from the build.
Business News understands the developer and state government will each pitch in $15 million for these upgrades.
Golden Group undertook extensive negotiations with the government to open up the Optus Stadium train station to everyday use and is in discussions about extending Transperth’s ferry network.
Mr Sugiaputra emphasised the scale of the project, which is the family entity’s most ambitious to date and set to be the largest in Perth.
“It’s the biggest project in the state [and] it’s probably [the biggest] in Australia now,” he said.
“There’s going to be up to 12,000 people living in here. And then during the day, the number of people coming in and out will be more dependent on how much commercial [and] retail, we end up building.
“It is like building a suburb.”
He added that the feedback he had received on the company’s latest plans was positive.
“I think everyone just wants to see this project happen,” he said.
“We understand it’s a big project, it’s a challenging project.”
Context
Golden Group’s relationship with the state government has not always been smooth sailing.
In 2011, when the Liberal Party was in power, then premier Colin Barnett wanted to use the land to build a new stadium.
Mr Barnett was blindsided by the deal between Golden River Developments and Perth Racing, which put an end to plans for a stadium to be built on the site.
This paved the way for Perth Stadium to be built where it stands today, across the freeway from Golden Sedayu’s land.
Plans to redevelop the area go as far back as 2007, when Perth Racing flagged a residential and tourism precinct surrounding the racecourse.
The developer is planning to build 68 luxury townhouses on the site. Image: Space Collective Architects
Golden Group has also encountered some turbulence in its dealings with the horse racing entity, with some industry veterans criticising a lack of progress on the site.
Mr Sugiaputra said recent negotiations between Golden Sedayu and Perth Racing were positive.
“Other than Perth Racing we don’t have any more neighbours, and lately we’ve been working very well with them,” he said.
“The discussion is more around what is best for the entire peninsula … we’re talking [about a] bigger set of items now.”
The two parties are currently renegotiating their contracts around a new grandstand at the site, which Perth Racing has wanted for several years.
Golden Sedayu has ramped up its project amid increasing demand for apartments.
According to recent data from Urbis, population growth in Perth is driving an increase in apartment sales.
Urbis recorded 248 sales in the first quarter of 2024, which is the highest since early 2022.
Urbis director property economics and market research David Cresp said supply was relatively low, with just 441 apartments available for sale compared with 1,518 in 2021.
“We’ve got a lack of housing across Perth,” he said.
“Prices are increasing and there continues to be very strong demand for property. So I think it’s come on at incredibly good time for the developer and also for the Perth market.”
WA focus
Mr Sugiaputra, who migrated to WA with his mother, Golden Group founder Mimi Wong, in the 1990s, reflected on the significance of Perth to his family.
“This state has given a lot to me and my family and we’ve been very fortunate and [are] grateful,” he said.
“My brother had a heart transplant in 2002 in Royal Perth and we can’t be thankful enough to the state and the people in the government.
“This is home.”
Golden Group is also involved in a $1 billion land subdivision near Byford, dubbed Whitby, and a 1,100-lot estate in Karnup called Vista.
The company has developed 330 lots across WA, Brisbane and Melbourne during the past 12 months.
Mr Sugiaputra said he was acutely aware of labour shortages, having felt the impacts on his other projects.
