The Kilns estate, developed by Marford Group, opened to the public for the first time on 14 and 15 September. It follows 25 years of work to rehabilitate the former quarry site off Travertine Vista, Carramar.
The 27ha park development features an extensive walking and bridle trail that takes visitors past a village green, waterfall, burgeoning bushland, wildflowers and restored limestone kilns from the original operation.
{{quote-A:R-W:175-Q:“The bush is high quality, so we have kept the best of that for the 2000m2 bush lots” -who:Trevor Delroy, Marford Group}}The parkland, which will eventually be surrounded by new homes and managed by a private residents’ group, was formerly one of the largest sand and limestone quarries in the Wanneroo District, supplying million of tonnes of material from the late 1920s to 1975.
Marford Group purchased the entire 100ha site from Ready Mix (now Holcim), and in 1995 began rehabilitation of the 20ha quarry. This included filling a four million cubic metre void with clean, uncontaminated material from government infrastructure projects, completed in 2009.
Since then, the company has undertaken extensive landscaping before temporarily opening it to the public for feedback during the weekend. Residential blocks are expected to be available on the market in two years.
Multi-purpose estate
Marford Group’s Trevor Delroy told Quarry The Kilns would be subdivided into 625 blocks, with the lots ranging in size from 250m2 to 2000m2. He anticipated the variety in block sizes would encourage a diverse mix of residents including singles, families, and empty-nesters.
“The quarry was about 20ha itself – it was a very big quarry – and the rest of the estate was bushland,” Delroy said. “The bush is high quality, so we have kept the best of that for the 2000m2 bush lots.
{{image3-a:R-w:275}}“Around the former quarry and parklands we have created a lot of cottage lots which are smaller, lock-and-leave blocks for people such as retirees, or semi-retirees.”
According to a master plan, the development will also include mid-sized family lots ranging from 375m2 to 650m2.
Delroy said once building commences, homeowners will become members of a Home Owners Association (HOA) that will manage the private open space and assets, including a community centre, community garden, a fully equipped “men’s shed”, and tennis courts.
Seed capital will also be handed over to the HOA to help the community develop. There is also scope for the HOA to generate income through wedding venue hire opportunities, as well as hiring out of commercial storage and sporting facilities.
“The whole idea for this community is to be self-funded,” Delroy said.
IMAGE GALLERY
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