For the second year running Thirdi Group has been nominated for a UDIA NSW award for excellence. This year Thirdi Group in Partnership with Milligan Group and SJB architects WON the award for Urban Renewal and Adaptive Reuse. The win came as recognition for the excellent development of our stunning ICONIC, at Waterloo. The acknowledgement came about for our revitalisation of the CHUBB building, integrating its features while constructing a whole new structure within. The appropriation of the existing building created a new life for the building in its established location.
The ICONIC is located within the CHUBB heritage building. The heritage façade wraps the new apartment block within giving the heritage site a new lease in life. We love the relationship the two aspects have with one another, the heritage aspects transition vertically from the brick from the CHUBB building to the terracotta balustrade as they play with the colours and textures.
The owners are excited to live in a beautiful heritage home with light airy modern features throughout.
We are excited to accept the honour and continue our work.
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Buy an apartment and drive for free
Real Estate.com
By Emily Hutchinson
It was recently announced that residential developer Thirdi has teamed up with car sharing company GoGet to allow new residents to drive around Newcastle for free in the first of its kind in Australia.
Thirdi Group has partnered with GoGet to establish a 100 strong fleet of cars and vans across Newcastle.
What’s the catch? There’s no catch. The developer’s WestEnd Precinct in Newcastle’s CBD is working with car sharing company, GoGet to ensure that each apartment will have the option to activate free driving credits.
These driving credits will be more than enough to ensure the driver can get from point A to point B all across town.
The plan is to establish a 100 strong fleet of cars and vans across Newcastle with 10% of GoGet’s projected fleet permanently located in the WestEnd developments.
Around 10% of GoGet’s projected fleet will be located in the WestEnd with a majority in the Thirdi Developments – Eaton and Stella.
This initiative demonstrates the developer’s focus on creating projects that veer away from traditional parking options associated with apartment living and instead, looks to the future of shared and sustainable options.
From a sustainability angle, each car share vehicle on the road replaces 10 private vehicles, which inevitably frees up on-street parking and traffic.
“If companies like mine aren’t exploring innovations like this, we are holding the next generation back when it comes to flexible and sustainable living,” says Luke Berry, Director of Thirdi Group.
Each apartment sold in the WestEnd Precinct will have the option to activate free driving credits.
The deal has been appealing to buyers and investors alike who have been given the opportunity to save money by opting for an apartment without a car space.
Les Parry is a Sydney-based property investor who recently purchased two apartments within a Thirdi development and said the GoGet deal benefitted him.
There are benefits to investors and owner occupiers.
“As soon as I was presented with Thirdi’s vision to include a service like GoGet in their basements, it was a no-brainer for me to consider the one-bedroom property without the park,” he says.
“It was significantly cheaper and with it located right next to the transport interchange, it made complete sense to me that my likely tenant wouldn’t place a high priority on having a car park.”
The WestEnd Precinct includes the Eaton and Stella developments, both of which are due for completion in June and December 2020 respectively.
This Australian first offers free driving credits with the apartment purchase.
Not only are there forward-thinking amenities like the GoGet driving credit included in the apartments, but other smart home features have been installed for the 21st century resident to enjoy.
These include advanced security in which you can select ‘away mode’ and see on your smart phone who visits your home in your absence.
You can control your lights through your hand-held device and the automated heating and cooling means you can organise these settings ahead of your arrival at home.
“In terms of customer value, we see this type of offering right in line with Home Automation, integrated appliances and the high-end fixtures and fittings we are now offering in our apartments,” says Berry.
Car-share company GoGet will launch in Newcastle on Tuesday after securing an agreement to base some of its vehicles under a property developer’s Wickham apartment buildings.
GoGet has about 3500 cars in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra and Brisbane and hopes to have 15 to 20 cars on the streets of Newcastle by early October.
The Newcastle Herald reported in February that Newcastle council had agreed to investigate whether to turn over some of the city’s on-street parking spaces to car-share operators.
Deputy lord mayor Declan Clausen said on Monday that council staff were working on a policy to accommodate companies such as GoGet.
GoGet’s head of locations and partnerships, Christopher Vanneste, said the company was negotiating with the council about accessing on-street parking spaces.
“We’ve given them a proposal of where we’re looking for an expected initial network, obviously fairly focused on that kind of inner-city place we usually start and grow out,” he said.
“Depending on how quickly Newcastle residents take it up, 100 cars you’re probably looking at a two- to three-year growth plan.”
But the company will make its initial foray into the Newcastle market on Tuesday after striking a deal with Thirdi Group offering apartment buyers or their tenants three years of GoGet credits.
Thirdi director Luke Berry said on Monday that eight GoGet vehicles would be housed under two apartment buildings under construction in Wickham. Two more would be based at Thirdi’s sales office and under the already completed West apartment block.
Mr Berry and GoGet head of communications Jonathan Englert said GoGet customers who were not residents of the apartment buildings also would be able to access the car parks to use the vehicles.
“This is essentially the announcement of the launch in Newcastle,” Mr Englert said.
“Developments can be a really great way to launch because developers get the benefit of what you could call a competitive advantage, which makes the properties more enticing, and the communities get the benefit.”
The vehicles will be a combination of passenger cars, vans and utes, all of which users return “back to base”.
Mr Berry said car sharing made sense given his buildings’ proximity to the Newcastle Interchange.
He said access to GoGet cars would make apartments without a dedicated parking spot more appealing to investors, tenants and couples who wanted to get rid of their second car.
“I’ve had to give up selling parks to do this,” he said.
“Usually a developer hates not having enough parks to give every unit a park.”
Mr Berry said GoGet and Thirdi had calculated the average inner-city dweller needed a car to travel about 25 kilometres a week.
The development company Thirdi Group is teaming up with GoGet to launch it’s car sharing services in Newcastle, starting with the company’s own Westend Precinct.
Over one hundred cars and vans are set to be scattered over the city centre and fringes in an attempt to assist those who can’t afford a vehicle of their own or have no access to parking facilities.
“As a developer this sort of partnership makes complete sense.” says Thirdi Group’s Director of Sales and Marketing Luke Perry.
“When you think about connectivity and transport, any form of transport that a city explores that’s flexible and sustainable will be greater for all residents in Newcastle.”
“The platform’s been created to give people that may not be able to afford a full-time car or need a secondary car flexibility where you can become a member, and within minutes hire a car you can use to go about your daily business.”
The aim of the arrangement is to provide property owners with the chance to access the vehicles for hire, with ‘free driving credits’ available to cover the basic needs of Westend residents.
“We’ve worked out the average urban dweller needs about twenty-five kilometres per week and university students or individuals who don’t want to carry the cost of owning a car can become a member and take advantage of the GoGet credits and the wavering of the membership fees that we’ve negotiated for our projects.” says Mr Perry.
An estimated ten percent of GoGet’s fleet is set to be permanently located in the Westend or in the basements of the Union and Hannel Street Thirdi Developments due for completion in 2020 with the hope of expansion in the future.
THE HERALD’S OPINION: GoGet’s arrival part of Newcastle’s modernising appeal
THE arrival in Newcastle of car-share company GoGet is both a symbol of our modernising inner city, and an example of the pressures building on traditional ownership models thanks to the digital technology.
As we are reporting, Newcastle’s first eight GoGet vehicles will have their “home” parking spaces in the basements of two apartment blocks being built in Wickham.
The company hopes to have 15 to 20 cars on the streets of Newcastle by early next month, with the potential for 100 or so vehicles in the coming two to three years, if demand pans out as expected.
In partnering with developers, GoGet is making use of a strategy that has helped it expand from its beginnings in Sydney in 2003 with three vehicles and 12 founding members, to a fleet today of 3500 vehicles in five cities.
Newcastle City Council is working on a policy to accommodate car-sharing companies such as GoGet, and the company has has said it is negotiating with the council about access to on-street parking spaces.
If the City of Sydney is any guide, this will mean converting existing public parking spaces into car-share spaces dedicated to individual companies. The Sydney council’s web page says there are three car-sharing businesses within its boundaries, serving some 31,000 residential and business members from 700 dedicated parking spaces. Some of these are off-street in parking stations or building car-parks but the majority are on the street. The City of Sydney boasts the highest rate of car-free households in metropolitan Sydney – 35 per cent to a city-wide average of 12 per cent – but the loss of public car-parking spaces in areas with limited off-street parking has apparently proved less than universally popular.
Similar complaints are not hard to imagine in Newcastle, but if the council wants commercial car-share operators to help it reduce vehicle traffic in the CBD, then the parking spaces will need to be found.
More importantly, the arrival of GoGet should provide another service – in the same vein as the powered cycle provider Bykko – that visitors and residents alike will come to demand if Newcastle is serious about its claims to becoming a global city. Especially at a time when a younger generation of drivers is embracing the share economy to the point where owning a car is no longer the coming-of-age ritual it was.
The lively espresso bar that has been hiding under our noses for the past 12 months
BY ALICIA POOLE
Recognise this place? I didn’t until I stumbled across the hidden cafe whilst
roaming the area and I’m telling you now; you’ll want to venture to Wickham
to check it out!
The building it lies within is part cafe (Coffee & Keys) and part property
development company (Thirdi Group). The unlikely partnership works wonders
in the newly developed area of Wickham, being situated just behind the
Interchange, travelers have only to walk a short distance for a delicious
cup of coffee and even check out the designs some stunning apartment suites.
Operated by hospitality aficionado, Jules Thomas, Coffee & Keys focus is on
good, easy food, coffee, and service, but with one hell of an interior décor!
The exposed steel beams, the rounded espresso bar, low hanging greenery,
and the light, bright and airy space all add to the stunning atmosphere
in the building.
With coffee from Lil P Coffee Bean, and a rotating seasonal menu,
Jules’ passion for good food and coffee shines through.
The West End is certainly where it’s at with this little gem of a spot right
in the heart of Wickham territory. With the Interchange just around the corner
and an emerging creative and hospitality scene with the likes of House of Lita,
Flotilla and Dark Horse Espresso hanging around the Wickham area too.
On one of the walls, visitors can find a cycle map, perfect for
planning an explore around Newcastle. With certain locations distance
stamped, you can figure out whether it’s worth pedaling too or not!
Healthy bowls, smoothies, wraps, and yummy treats are just some of what you
can expect to see on Coffee & Keys menu. Check out how yummy they look!
Head along to Coffee & Keys in the West End; it’s where it’s at!
