Halcyon lands development accolades

Developer Halcyon took top honours at this year’s UDIA (Qld) Awards for Excellence, winning the prestigious UDIA (Qld) President’s Award for its Halcyon Landing over 50s community at Bli Bli on the Sunshine Coast.It was a major coup for the privately operated South East Queensland company which became the night’s most awarded developer with four accolades under its belt.Halcyon Landing also won in the categories of Seniors’ Living, Environmentally Sustainable Development - Land Based and Environmentally Sustainable Development - Built Form.Halcyon’s pursuit of environmental sustainability in the delivery of lifestyle communities for over 50s saw its $90 million project become “Queensland’s standout development of the year” according to UDIA (Qld) president Neil O’Connor.Mr O’Connor said Halcyon Landing was an excellent example of creative, innovative and flexible development that provided real, long-term housing solutions for Australia’s ageing population.“Housing this demographic is both an ongoing challenge and an opportunity,” he said.“Halcyon’s high quality, low maintenance homes are an excellent response to the market’s needs.“The impressive green features of the development provide home owners with benefits above and beyond the obvious environmental advantages.“Halcyon’s ability to translate the needs of baby boomers into a lifestyle-orientated community that is underpinned by proven green practices impressed the judges this year and makes Halcyon Landing a very worthy winner.”Halcyon joint managing director Bevan Geissmann said the awards were both gratifying and humbling, noting the efforts of the Halcyon Landing team who had worked tirelessly to make the project a success.Dr Geissmann said the awards were a great endorsement of the company’s commitment to innovation.“From Halcyon’s inception to now, our desire to operate outside the box has remained constant,” he said.“It’s about adding value for home owners and meeting their high expectations of a retirement lifestyle.“The awards and recognitions we’ve received, in particular at Halcyon Landing in its relatively short history, have reinforced the value of our product offering and operating model.“That gives buyers great confidence and shows us we’re taking the right approach to our projects.”The pace of sales at Halcyon Landing is testament to the developer’s success in meeting the wants and needs of the baby boomer market, with $7.5 million in sales achieved within 72 hours after the release of its latest stage in September.In recognition of its commitment to innovation, Halcyon Landing became the first retirement community in Australia to receive six-leaf EnviroDevelopment certification from the UDIA (Qld) this year.The project was also recognised for affordability earlier in the year after taking home the Sunshine Coast Regional Council’s Living Smart ‘Glossies’ award  for Affordable Living.Halcyon is a UDIA awards stalwart, having five times won UDIA Queensland and National awards at Halcyon Waters and Halcyon Parks, located on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast respectively.The company operates a transparent financial model across all its projects which rolls council rates, water charges and body corporate fees into a fixed weekly fee, indexed to the Consumer Price Index.The absence of exit and deferred management fees across all Halcyon’s projects has seen home owners from Halcyon Waters and Halcyon Parks pocket collective capital gains of $7.58 million in the past ten years.In another money-saving measure, eight star energy ratings, standard to all 170 homes at Halcyon Landing, are estimated to save home owners a collective $3 million on their electricity bills over the next 20 years based on annual savings of between $800 and $900 per household.The eight-star ratings are made possible by advanced design elements such as thermal insulation, light coloured roofing and gas hot waters systems.All homes also include solar panels as standard, allowing many home owners to supply unused energy to the electricity grid and receive a return on their solar investment.Leisure facilities at Halcyon Landing include an expansive Leisure Club, championship-size bowling green, flood-lit tennis court, swimming pool, spa, walking trail and extensive environmental parkland.Halcyon is recognised as a unique retirement brand in Australia and its no exit fee model and superior lifestyle inclusions have made it a revolutionary template for the retirement sector.