TOWNSVILLE PROUD | THE PEOPLE BUILDING TOWNSVILLE | THE DEVELOPERS
GRANT McOMISH INGENTA
When Grant McOmish relocated his family to Townsville in 1998 to start the 2236-lot Fairfield Waters development they only intended to stay for a few years, but the city’s ‘can-do’ attitude and warmth saw roots set. While Ingenta is now onto the final stage of the transformative Fairfield Waters development, Grant’s development philosophies haven’t changed — get the community and environmental aspects right and people will come.
Where are you from and how did you get started? I was born in western Queensland and grew up on cattle and sheep properties. I did most of my schooling in Rockhampton and started a traineeship with the local LJ Hooker franchise at 19. At age 25 I started my own business — it grew into a diversified real estate group specialising in project management, but we also did our own developments, including building and civil construction. It evolved into a pure development business and we are now delivering projects in Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton and Brisbane. Which of your projects has created the biggest impact on the city? Fairfield Waters set a new standard for Townsville. The amount of community infrastructure involved and the complexity of creating an environmentally sensitive development on such a large scale was a huge undertaking. It was also a landmark project in the way it integrated residential and community facilities, like Fairfield Central Shopping Centre, which we are still developing with the Lancini Group. It will soon expand to include a Kmart, countless food options, an evening dining precinct, another major supermarket, and a tavern; plus a business and homemakers precinct, which are under construction now.
What’s your vision for Townsville? The Strand development gave Townsville a great kick and I think the waterfront precinct and stadium project are crucial because they will launch us to the next level. The city has to maintain its heart, the developments need to be sustainable, they need to be community based, and they need to complement our sense of community connectedness. What are you working on now? There’s a lot going on, but I’m really enjoying Fairways [at Townsville Golf Club in Rosslea] because it will deliver the community a new 18-hole championship-standard golf course as part of the 226-lot residential development, plus a new clubhouse. We also bought the Townsville West State School last year. It’s an iconic building and we’re excited about ensuring that its heritage value is preserved through careful restoration and an appropriate re-utilisation combining community and commerce.
“THE CITY HAS TO MAINTAIN ITS HEART, THE DEVELOPMENTS NEED TO… COMPLEMENT OUR SENSE OF COMMUNITY CONNECTEDNESS” GRANT McOMISH
DUO MAGAZINE AUGUST 2015 duomagazine.com.au 31