Located in Sunshine North, Victoria, the River Valley estate is being promoted as the place where urban living meets the tranquility of life by the water. The estate brochure captures the picturesque Quarry Lake winding its way through the development.
Buyers are custom designing their homes to take advantage of the views and natural setting, with about 200 already built in River Valley, which on completion, will house 3500 to 4000 people.
{{image2-a:r-w:300}}Situated adjacent to the Maribyrnong River, the development has a “beautiful natural setting with an abundance of local amenities and history”, according to a YourLand Developments press release.
YourLand director Mark Erskine said the chief advantage of sloping blocks was that they offered great views.
“Because they are building their dream home, most people want their own unique design,” Erskine said.
However, sloping blocks can be difficult to build on, and Erskine said YourLand was doing the block levelling in the form of steps and retaining walls in the former quarry that closed in the late 1980s.
“It’s much more efficient for us to do it rather than the purchasers, as we’re already constructing the allotments and we have the machinery out there,” Erskine said.
“It significantly reduces the buyers’ costs, too, as benching can cost around $70,000.”
‘Upside-down house’
Kesia Alberto lives in one of 200 houses already built at River Valley, which she described in the real estate website Domain as “an oasis amid all the busy-ness”.
The Albertos paid $60,000 in site costs before they hired a custom builder to construct their ‘upside-down house’, where the bedrooms are on the lower level and the kitchen and living areas are on the higher floor.
“Our block only had a three-metre fall, whereas some of our neighbours had a six-metre or nine-metre fall, but it was enough so that we couldn’t get a standard builder to build our house, we had to get a [specialised] builder,” Alberto told Domain.
“Our house is a reverse house, so downstairs is the kids’ bedrooms and one living room and lounge room for us, then upstairs is our kitchen/dining lounge,” she said.
“It was exactly what we wanted. The kids play on the street all the time, which is really nice and I can see them, because our kitchen and living is all up the top,” she added.
Erskine said planning approval had also been received for a shopping centre within the community.
The development is a short drive to Sunshine train station, while Ballarat Road delivers commuters into the Melbourne CBD.
“We call it a hidden oasis because it’s pretty amazing, and you can ride a bike along the trails all the way into the CBD,” he said.
“You are also a couple of minutes from the [Western] Ring Road, so if you need to go north, east, west or south, it’s very easy,” he added.
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