13 minute read
31 Ed.Square – A community blossoms
Ed.Square – A community blossoms
Ed.Square, NSW
A lot of what goes into creating a new neighbourhood is easily observable. The earth moving, the construction, the landscaping, and the infrastructure. But arguably the most important inclusion – the sense of community and belonging – requires dedicated effort and gentle coaxing to create that magic sense of place.
Ed.Square
“There’s something special about the community at Ed.Square”, says Claire Palmer, the Frasers Property Community Development Manager who is responsible for fostering social connection between new neighbours at the flourishing Frasers Property neighbourhood in Sydney’s south-west.
The sense of community and camaraderie that has developed at Ed.Square in just a couple of fast-paced years has become one of its key selling points. “More and more people I speak to are saying that they’re moving to Ed.Square because of the community”, says Claire. “People love the friendly neighbourhood feel.”
Ed.Square is one of more than a dozen active Frasers Property neighbourhoods where there is a significant and long-term investment in community development, run by dedicated specialists like Claire. Time and again, Frasers Property has seen residents benefit from activations and initiatives designed to bring people together and give them opportunities to make lasting connections with other residents.
“It’s about ensuring there is a diverse range of opportunities for people to come together”, explains Claire. “People at Ed.Square live busy lives. They’re often working couples or people with young families. They want to have the best of both worlds where they can live and work somewhere where it’s all happening and there are a lot of activities. The community program we run allows people with busy lives to take advantage of the arranged activities when it suits them.”
One recent event, a ‘Paint & Sip’ art workshop run in partnership with and hosted by local café Degani, led by talented artist Courtney Beaton of KAO Kreative, was a huge success. Guided by Courtney to release their inner Picasso, residents painted up a storm and got to know each other while enjoying wine and cheese.
The beauty of these events according to Claire is allowing residents to not just prepare an artwork they can then take home but also meet their neighbours in an informal setting and even bring a family member along to see what it’s like living at Ed.Square. The Community Development program has been so successful at Ed.Square that residents are now starting to take ownership of it and drive it for themselves. “People genuinely want to connect, which I really love”, says Claire. “You want them to meet others they really gel with and then go on to arrange their own social activities.” A recent example saw residents approach Claire about starting up a regular board game night, approaching local businesses to host and support them.
This is the ideal outcome according to Claire, who says that she knows she’s succeeding in her role when residents facilitate their own community events independent of Frasers Property. Warwick Dowler, Ed.Square’s Development Director, agrees: “The definition of success in community development is when you have residents taking the lead on things. That’s exactly what you want.”
Claire Palmer
Community Development Manager Frasers Property Australia
‘What I Love About Ed’ asked residents to post photos on Facebook together with the hashtag #whatiloveaboutEd. Popular themes that emerged were the glorious sunsets and sunrises viewed from the Ed.Square apartments, the joy of meeting new neighbours and getting to know them, as well as the convenience of Ed.Square Town Centre with its great access to shops, cinema, entertainment, and Eat Street. “More and more people I speak to are saying that they’re moving to Ed.Square because of the community.”
Community building during lockdowns
The past few years have not been the easiest for building community connections with the global pandemic forcing regular lockdowns and social isolation. A large number of residents moved into Ed.Square either between or during lockdowns and, as a result, the usual community activations and welcome-to-the-neighbourhood events were often unable to proceed. But with quick adaptation, Claire was able to bring people together with a string of online events, competitions, and initiatives including wellbeing webinars, cooking workshops, recipe sharing initiatives, and photo competitions.
To Warwick, the desire of residents to continue engaging with each other during this time showed the strength of the community spirit. “One thing that’s really been evident with the Ed.Square community is just how resilient they’ve been despite not having the ability to do things faceto-face”, he says. “The whole time the lockdown situation was going on, the residents remained very keen to still engage.”
The Community Development team ran a number of innovative online initiatives to engage residents with the community, including the ‘What I Love About Ed’ competition and ‘The Kindness Project’. The Ed.Square ‘Kindness Project’, an offshoot of a global phenomenon that took off in response to the pandemic, asked residents to nominate someone who had done something kind for another neighbour. The response was heartwarming. “At first, I thought I’d get maybe two submissions a week”, says Claire, “but we got flooded with nominations. It just shows the character and genuine sentiment we have here in the community.”
Having a resident-run Facebook page focused on the Ed.Square community was also an invaluable tool during the lockdown period, providing an informative space for people to ask questions and be pointed in the right direction by other residents. “People who have yet to move into the community are joining this Facebook group and already getting a sense of the place, the locals, the best coffee, the local schools”, says Claire.
Kindess Project
#whatiloveaboutEd
Humans of Ed.
Another exciting initiative underway at Ed.Square is the ‘Humans of Ed.’ project, undertaken by local Ed.Square residents Amanda and JP, who run creative agency Jasper Avenue. The project features photos and stories from Ed.Square residents and is a celebration of the diversity and strength of its community.
“Some of the residents have always been local to the area and want to be involved in this new, happening urban space”, says Amanda. “Some, like JP and me, came from the inner city where space is tighter. Others have moved in from further out of town. So, there’s always stories to be told about what brought people here – their dreams and aspirations. You can’t tell just by looking at them.”
Once completed, the ‘Humans of Ed.’ project will be displayed in a community space at Ed.Square where residents and visitors can view and enjoy the works.
A unique place to live in Sydney
What stands out to Claire about Ed.Square residents is the care and sense of pride they have in their community. She sees it in the way that residents look out for each other and support the local Eat Street businesses. “They just genuinely care about their community”, adds Claire. “They know the local restauranteurs and café owners in Eat Street, and they support them to succeed. It’s what’s making the neighbourhood really come alive.”
Warwick says he knew from the early days of the development that they had an opportunity to build a unique offering at Ed.Square given its size and location, supported by a brand new train station built directly to the north of the neighbourhood. Now with over 1,000 residents moved in and such a strong and diverse community coming together, Ed. Square is flourishing.
“When you see neighbours stopping to chat in the shops and kids making new friends in the playground, you know that all the planning and effort is paying off”, says Warwick. “It means that community has a life of its own.” For more information on Ed.Square, call Frasers Property on 13 38 38.
PAYING IT FORWARD
As Frasers Property Australia approaches its centenary year, Executive General Manager Development, Cameron Leggatt, finds himself reflecting on the value of legacy and what it means to create the places that support the hopes and ambitions of hundreds of thousands of Australians. A legacy that’s not just about what’s left for posterity, but what is bequeathed to future generations.
The weight of responsibility that comes with shaping dozens of new suburbs and neighbourhoods across the country is one that Frasers Property Australia’s Cameron Leggatt, carries with both gratitude and humility. As Executive General Manager Development he oversees a portfolio of developments, including residential, retail, and commercial projects – the future homes, shops, and places of work for hundreds of thousands of people.
It’s the kind of job where the fruits of labour are highly visible and occasionally controversial. The very nature of development – including redevelopment – of our suburbs and cities comes with its share of uncertainty for those who share space with these evolving places.
Cameron Leggatt
Executive General Manager Development Frasers Property Australia
“It’s an entirely understandable anxiety”, says Cameron. “In a lot of ways, our neighbourhoods are extensions of ourselves. Our sense of identity and safety is really wrapped up in the places we live and work and that comes with a fair amount of emotional attachment. So, when a developer comes in with a plan to build something new, there’s a level of disruption and change that can concern people.
That sensitivity means that Frasers Property sees its legacy as substantially more than the homes, parks, shopping centres and business towers it creates. Instead, the standard of success is increasingly measured by the pride and collective sense of belonging people feel for these places, as well as the way they provide a backdrop to realise individual hopes and ambitions. It’s a simple human truth captured in the company’s tagline: Live proud, and what Cameron says sets the company apart in its approach to placemaking.
“The elements that underpin good development haven’t changed all that much since we migrated from farms to villages thousands of years ago”, he explains.
“We still need a market square. We still need a civic heart to our communities. We want the nourishment of beauty around us, and good neighbours and great friends close by. It’s not rocket science, but the trick is to do it really, really well. So generations from now, when our contribution to a place is a distant memory, people will continue to be attracted there because it’s meaningful to them.”
Philosophically, it’s an inarguably worthy ambition. But what about the practice? Cameron points to the recent crop of completed neighbourhoods that exemplify the company’s approach to leaving a valued legacy: Central Park Sydney, Melbourne’s Freshwater Place, Yungaba House in Brisbane, and Queen’s Riverside in Perth. Let’s take a closer look.
Central Park, Sydney
Fifteen years ago, a former brewery on Sydney’s Broadway had fallen into disrepair, a forgotten relic of Chippendale’s rich history. Fast forward to today and it’s a thriving community and one of the city’s most recognisable and iconic addresses – Central Park Sydney.
Proudly developed by Frasers Property Australia and Sekisui House Australia, the vision to create a self-contained neighbourhood where people can live, learn, work, shop, dine and relax together has seen Central Park Sydney become the most awarded mixed-use development in the country.
Stepping onto the grounds of Central Park Sydney today, it’s hard to believe that a mere decade ago this was a derelict site on one of Sydney’s busiest streets. Day and night, Spice Alley is full of diners enjoying the best of Asian street cuisine. Shoppers and cinema-goers stream in and out of Central Park Mall’s jungled interior, while sunkissed residents laze on the manicured lawns of Chippendale Green. Central Park Sydney is a meeting place that manages to feel both exciting and idyllic in equal measure.
Freshwater Place, Melbourne
Nestled on the southern bank of Melbourne’s Yarra River, the mixed-use residential, retail, and commercial precinct today known as Freshwater Place has always been a meeting point. With an important indigenous heritage and then subsequent development of warehouses and wharves as Melbourne’s first port in the late 1800s, Southbank’s evolution continues to bring people together in the pursuit of art, commerce, and riverside prosperity.
In 2005, Frasers Property set out to help redevelop this neglected precinct of Melbourne, restoring its former glory as a trading post and meeting place, while reconnecting it with the thriving streets and laneways across the river. The resulting masterplan combined 37 floors of highly soughtafter office space with riverside restaurants and retail amenities, as well as luxury apartment living with a fully equipped gym, rooftop garden, function space, theatre, pool, sauna, and more.
Today, Freshwater Place is a bustling mixed-use neighbourhood with residents and workers rubbing shoulders at its waterfront bars, cafes, and restaurants.
< Yungaba House, QLD
Yungaba House, Brisbane
Tucked away on Kangaroo Point just 800m from the bustling Brisbane CBD, sits one of Frasers Property Australia’s most unique projects: Yungaba.
Centred around historic Yungaba House, this masterplanned residential community consists of four apartment buildings connected by tropical gardens, and 10 exclusive residences lovingly restored and renewed by Frasers Property alongside a team of the nation’s best heritage consultants.
Yungaba House was originally commissioned by the Queensland Government in 1885 as an Immigration Depot, going on to live many lives over the years – serving as a ‘return house’ for Australian troops returning from the Boer War, a hospital for Australian troops during the wartime years of the 1900’s and a drafting office for architects working on projects for Brisbane City.
Acquired by Frasers Property in 2003, the vision for the entire Yungaba site, including the delicate restoration of Yungaba House, was clear from the outset: a rare opportunity to rehabilitate and preserve one of Brisbane’s oldest buildings while keeping this unique slice of Brisbane history alive for generations to come. Queens Riverside, Perth
Featuring beautifully landscaped open links, spectacular water features and gardens, as well as a European-inspired piazza that flows seamlessly between four architecturally arresting apartment buildings, Queens Riverside celebrates the unique beauty of the Swan River and the surrounding native parklands and reserves. All within strolling distance to the world-renowned WACA Ground, Trinity College, and Queens Gardens.
Whether it’s a show at Optus Stadium, a cricket match at the WACA, or the restaurants and nightlife of the city, Queens Riverside residents are spoilt for choice. And when it’s time to retreat to home, there are exclusive amenities to enjoy –including pools, hot tubs, residents’ lounge, cinema-style theatre room, fully equipped gym, and resident concierge services.
The Queens Riverside precinct also includes Fraser Suites Perth. Offering short and long-stay options, these popular self-contained apartments feature stylish furnishings and fittings, balconies or floor-to-ceiling windows that open to allow in an abundance of natural light, as well as complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi and modern kitchens. It’s a unique offering that means Queens Riverside can be home for a day, a week, or forever.
Queens Riverside, WA Freshwater Place, VIC
For more information on these communities or any of the current Frasers Property communities under development, call 13 38 38.
