Waterlea
Waterlea is a residential master planned estate
in Southeast Queensland
12 minutes from Ipswich, the fastest growing city in Queensland
Waterlea is a residential master planned estate in Southeast Queensland, located 45 minutes west of Brisbane and adjacent to the established township of Walloon. Amenities within Walloon include a railway station, primary school, petrol station, IGA supermarket and a range of convenience retail stores (a medical centre, pharmacy, hotel and tavern, bakery and beauty salon). Waterlea is 12 minutes from Ipswich, the fastest growing city in Queensland, and is conveniently located near major employment hubs such as the Amberley Airforce base, Australia’s largest military base, and the Ipswich hospital.
First master planned estate in the western Ipswich Growth corridor, which is forecast to be home to more than 45,000 new residents.
Waterlea is the first master planned estate in the western Ipswich Growth corridor, which is forecast to be home to more than 45,000 new residents. The Project is characterised by extensive parklands, thoughtfully designed precincts, and a thriving neighbourhood commercial centre at its entrance.
The project at a glance
Project Size
1,854 RESIDENTIAL LOTS
K-12 PRIVATE SCHOOL
2 COMMERCIAL LOTS
135 PLACE CHILDCARE CENTRE
MARKET HALL WITH OPERATING RESTAURANT
Total Site Area
212 HECTARES (APPROX.)
Location
IPSWICH, QUEENSLAND
Project Launch
OCTOBER 2016
Key Constraints
INITIALLY 80% FLOOD AFFECTED (APPROX.)
INITIALLY 5KM FROM SEWER SERVICES
Offering a cosmopolitan lifestyle with a country feel, less than 15 minutes from the Ipswich CBD.
The masterplanned community
The site was subject to two major constraints, flooding and sewer, both of which were resolved by the Benchmark team with great success:
Flood Mitigation Strategy
Prior to any works starting on site, approximately 100 hectares of Waterlea was flooded during heavy rain events. The Benchmark Team, together with specialist consultants, created and designed a 100m wide stretch of parkland and waterway through the middle of the project, to be known as the Waterlea Waterway. In heavy rain events the waterway will channel the flood water safely through the centre of the site, away from any houses, and in dry weather the waterway provides 338,000 square metres of parkland for residents to enjoy. Features of the parklands will include 2.4km of walking and cycling paths, fitness stations, a dog park and play equipment for children of all ages. Following works flooding impacts reduced to 33.8ha (area is confirmed by JH & NM), which provided an additional 66.2ha for development. This innovative flood mitigation strategy provided an additional 1,000 lots, which would have otherwise been non-developable.
Sewer and water servicing
Benchmark and it’s team of specialist consultants designed and delivered the key regional infrastructure that enabled residential development to be possible. This infrastructure included upgrades to state-controlled roads, and construction of $35m worth of sewer and water network infrastructure. All this was possible due to Benchmarks ability to work closely with authorities to create innovative infrastructure solutions.
All the above dramatically reduced the development risk of the Waterlea, which made it extremely desirable project. After delivering the major infrastructure works and first 500 lots, Benchmark successfully on-sold the project to ID Land in October 2021.
Community events were always a huge success and put the Waterlea estate on the map
Being the first to launch in the corridor, Waterlea had to rely on being a value proposition in Stage 1, whilst the grand entrance and central waterway was being delivered. The entrance, complemented by the surrounding parklands, was then activated via community engagement such as family fun free events and eventually the monthly community markets. Community events were always a huge success and put the Waterlea estate on the map.
The team launched Waterlea as the ‘Home of the big blocks’ by offering 800 square metre lots when all other estates’ lots sizes were reducing.
Whilst the market hall was under construction the team launched Waterlea as the ‘Home of the big blocks’ by offering 800 square metre lots when all other estates’ lots sizes were reducing. This attracted quality buyers from the Ripley Valley, a nearby, established, land corridor, seeking to build premium housing. This transformed the stage 3 streetscape which was instrumental to the family-oriented feel that the estate has today and is now further complemented by a vibrant market hall and successful restaurant operation.
The Waterlea estate has successfully built a strong brand and positioned now competes with the other more established residential growth areas of Western Brisbane and Ipswich.
