R&F Breaks Ground on $570M Melbourne Project and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Leading today’s roundup, Guangzhou-based developer R&F Property has started work on the first phase of a large-scale regeneration project in suburban Melbourne that could bring up to 1,450 homes to the market. Also in the news, China has unveiled the master plan for its new city outside Beijing that could be the country’s biggest infrastructure project ever. Elsewhere around the region, Ikea is planning to ramp up its Korea expansion with urban outposts in Seoul, and India is eyeing up to 200 new airports over the next couple of decades. Read on for all these new developments in Asia’s real estate world.

R&F Property Breaks Ground on $570M Aussie Project

Chinese developer R&F Property Australia has commenced construction on the initial stage of its A$750 million ($570 million), eight-building, Live City residential and mixed-use project in Footscray. The developer’s first project in Victoria, Live City is being built on the dormant Kinnears Ropeworks factory at 124-128 Ballarat Road.

The site will be repurposed into a residential and mixed-use precinct of up to 1,450 dwellings. R&F acquired the site in 2016 for a reported $60 million and will stage the development over the next six to eight years. Read more>>

Ikea Plans Small City Stores in Seoul

Swedish furniture giant Ikea is planning to open a number of small city stores in Seoul, a significant departure from the suburban mega stores that the company typically favors.

“We will continue to make our big stores more and we will make them better for our customers, but we will also find a way for those people who find it difficult to access Ikea at city centers,” said Ikea CEO Jesper Brodin said at a press event held on April 19 at Ikea’s branch in Goyang, Gyeonggi. Read more>>

China Releases Master Plan for Xiongan New Area

China on Saturday published the master plan document for Xiongan New Area outside Beijing, creation of which is “a strategic decision with profound historic significance made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core.”

Xiongan is another new area of “national significance” following the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and Shanghai Pudong New Area, according to the document, which has been approved by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. The plan is the fundamental guideline on the planning and development of Xiongan New Area, mapping out the area’s future by 2035 and looking ahead into the mid-21st century, it reads. Read more>>

SG Commercial Site Launched with Asking Price of $10.2M

A freehold commercial site at the former New World Amusement Park in Jalan Besar Road has been launched for sale via an expression of interest (EOI) exercise.

On Monday (April 23), marketing agent JLL said that the indicative guide price of the site is about S$13.5 million ($10.2 million), reflecting a unit land rate of about $1,392 per square feet per plot ratio (psf ppr). No development charge is payable for the intensification of the site. The site is situated between 251 Jalan Besar Road and 255 Jalan Besar Road, and occupies a total land area of about 3,230 square feet. Read more>>

India to Spend $60B to Double Airport Count

The government of India says it is planning to spend $60 billion on doubling the number of airports it operates as it races to meet demand in its aviation market, the world’s fastest growing.

Jayant Sinha, the minister for civil aviation, said in a recent interview with the Nikkei Asian Review that “India should have 150 to 200 airports … in the next 15 to 20 years.” At present, the country has 100 airports, although it is building new ones fast, with no fewer than 31 expected to be completed in the next 12 months. Of the 100 new airports to be constructed, about 70 will go up in areas that have no airport now. Read more>>

Moda Operandi Plans Brick-and-Mortar Stores in Asian Cities

US luxury e-commerce site Moda Operandi plans to open physical stores in key Asian cities in the next 18 months, as part of its international expansion and zoning in on the region, according to the New York company’s CEO.

“We’re embarking on an international expansion right away,” the firm’s CEO, Deborah Nicodemus, told WWD in a recent interview. “Our senior team is looking at taking the expansion plan to an operational level.” Read more>>

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