PHOTO: Mr Jack Walker – Project Development Manager
A sleeping beauty slice of Yass is awakening, and her name is Yarrah.
Providing a range of block sizes, Yarrah’s appeal starts with affordability but doesn’t end there. If realised to full planned potential – the development will become home to 700+ new families. The neighbourhood will include riverside homes on tree-lined avenues, riverside leisure areas, local shops, medical centre, gym, childcare and a retirement village, ensuring a diverse community.
A missing link in the residential plan of Yass, Yarrah is planned to be built off Laidlaw Street on the northern side of Yass. With riverside pathways, recreational and cultural space as key design elements, it is expected to finally connect Yass CBD with the northern side in a dynamic way, activating and opening up a scenic part of Yass River to the wider Yass community. Yarrah adjoins Joe O’Connor park and is ribboned by around 1.7 km of the Yass River. The new development is a vision from the Walker family, who, for generations, has been involved in the development of Yass township.
Yarrah is a Masterplanned Community and currently has approval for stage one development. Stage one comprises 62 residential lots with a diverse range of sizes from 450m squared up to 901m squared.
Traditionally in Yass, land sizes in town are around 700m squared, which is perfect for families who want some space in their yard and a good-sized home. Yarrah is offering not only 700m squared lots, but also 450m squared lot sizes to appeal to people who want a lower maintenance yard while 901m squared offerings are located by Yass River and enjoy views and space for architecturally unique homes. The lots have started at $146,000, and since the start of October have been open for expressions of interest.
“Whether you’re single, a young family, first home buyer, empty nester or retiree. There’s something for everyone. It’s all here,” stated Jack Walker, Project Manager.
“Local investors, local families, Canberra families, I think the great thing about Yarrah, is that it has something for everyone. That’s why we have seen such a great uptake,” said Andrew Curlewis, Principal of Yass Valley Property.
31 out of the 62 lots approved for stage 1 development are priced under $200,000 with affordability being the primary goal, with 40 lots reserved in total. Six local and Canberra based builders have expressed interest in providing a mix of high-quality homes and great value house and land packages. The builders and their packages will be announced soon.
“Most of the lots that are selling are the smaller lots, the more affordable ones, from 450m squared to 700m squared – most are gone. The larger blocks with views over Yass River a couple have sold, but they are slower to move,” said Mr Curlewis.
David Dawes is a consultant on the project and brings with him a wealth of experience in the development sector. Mr Dawes worked as the Chief Executive of the Master Builders Association of ACT. Mr Dawes also served six years as the Directory General of the Economic Development Directorate in the ACT government. Through this role, he was the Chief Executive of the Land Development Agency and is using this knowledge to help create Yarrah.
“I am very pleased to be working with the Walker family to deliver an exciting new development to the Yass region,” said Mr Dawes. “There has been keen interest in the development so far; it will provide exciting options for all demographics for the foreseeable future.”
Michael Chapman is the Urban and Landscape Designer on the project and is the master planner for Yarrah. Mr Chapman for 17 years was the lead Urban Designer for Lendlease and in that time helped teams create great places that improved community outcomes and housing accessibility around Australia. He now operates PlacePlan, which aims to optimise and balance efficiency, lot buildability, infrastructure, livability, and lifestyle elements to create great places for people to live and grow.
“Yarrah is a transformative development that will help to grow Yass including businesses, services and provide greater lifestyle options,” said Peter and Kate Walker, Development team members.
“We are pleased to see Yarrah Stage One coming to fruition. It has been a five-year journey to this point and has been the combined effort of many wonderful, very experienced professionals including Michael Chapman, a former lead urban designer for land lease, Town Planner Liz Densely from Elton Consulting; Development team members David Dawes from David Dawes Projects, Simon Cassidy from Genium, Brett Mugridge from Spiire, Jason Burgess from Jobbin Hill Consulting and the Walker Family.”
Besides the approval of Stage One, there are also plans for Yarrah to bring a new activity centre and a senior living site. Both are still in the process of receiving approval, with the senior’s site aiming to deliver around 60 dwellings for retirees and the activity centre to be a space for commercial use. The activity centre is designed around shop-top living – perfect for small business owners who want to live on-premises.
The activity centre, if approved, could host a medical service centre, gym, childcare and neighbourhood shops. There are also plans for a potential hotel to be included in Yarrah residing near the river. The masterplan for these parts of the development have recently been updated to include more COVID friendly design aspects, and the developers are hoping to start taking interest early next year pending approval.
The masterplan submitted as a condition for stage one approval included 700 dwellings. Yarrah will also deliver more footpaths along Yass River for the community to enjoy and hopes to connect them with the Council’s proposed pathways along the rail corridor. Yarrah will provide a lot of diversity to the housing market in Yass and has been designed with flexibility for all buyers.
“It’s the only Master Planned Community in Yass, and this is the first stage, so we are still seeing what’s going well and what’s not, but by the looks of it, we have got it right. It’s been publicly available for around a month and the uptake has been very positive,” said Mr Curlewis.
Interested buyers or inquiries about Yarrah, can be made through Yass Valley Property located at 79 Comur Street, Yass.
By Ryan Betts
