Richmond

The Wilshire Group purchased the Richmond development from the receiver at stage 1 after the development failed midway through the initial land development phase. Maven provided due diligence consultancy then ultimately took over the project from the prior designer and civil engineers.

Due to this development failing early on there were numerous challenges to overcome including outstanding consents , design shortcomings, and missing information. These challenges led to flow on issues that resulted in various rework and even the demolishing of infrastructure that had been incorrectly constructed.

Maven was instrumental in negotiating a new land development contract and getting the civil contractor back onsite and working within just a few weeks of Wilshire purchasing Richmond. All issues were resolved by Maven and practical completion of the civil and infrastructure works were issued just eight months after purchase.

Building platforms were progressively handed over to builders throughout 2016 according to schedule and works were completed within budget and contract value. Stage 1 of 99 homes will be progressively completed and handed over to owners throughout 2017. Stage 2 and 3 design is now complete.

Maven are currently progressing on Stage 4 of the Richmond Development.
This site is located over a large basalt/lava cap, to which the entire Richmond Development utilizes a complex stormwater soakage system. The underlying philosophy of stormwater design adopted for the Richmond Development is one of constructing private soakage devices in common areas to handle the vast majority of
stormwater runoff, with only the relatively small remaining volume discharging into the public soakage system.

Maven has been working collaboratively with ENGEO, McKenzie & Parma, Capri, GJ Gardener, and Bob Hick Earthmoving to deliver this project.

In order to meet tight timelines, the project involved splitting the overall stage into further sub-stages, with civil works completed for part of the stage so that the builders could get on site and started sooner than would be possible using a more traditional construction methodology.

It was a complex undertaking, requiring effective liaison between the client, engineer, civils contractor and builder – however the partnership reaped benefits in a shortened construction timeline.

The image attached show the development well-underway, with construction of house building platforms by the builder seen in the front of the image, with civil works visible in the remainder of the stage at the rear of the image.

Development Challenges & Special Features

• 7m high retaining walls
• 1.4m3/s onsite disposal of stormwater within rock bore chambers
• 150m of 280mm diameter thrust wastewater lines through basalt and rock boulders
• Complex overland flow paths within a flat site
• 10ha of earthworks
• Progressive handover of platforms to builders within a tight programme
• Private pocket parks with light and detailed landscaping

Surveying Component

Maven were the surveyors that undertook the legal survey component of this development. Due to the density and scale of this development, there were challenges and interesting features:

Terraced Housing Stage:

• High survey accuracy due to high density of the development
• Over 50 party wall easements integrated into the dwellings under construction.
• Complex 3-dimensional easements through dwelling roof cavities
• Complex landscaping, drainage and utility easements
• Residents’ Association with shared accessways

Unit Title Stages (x2 Blocks)

• 22 Principal Units over two apartment blocks
• Complex arrangement of common property for future-proofing of maintenance

Client reference

In a nutshell, we chose to work with Maven on the Richmond development because, having worked with several of their team previously, we knew they had the technical knowhow to understand our requirements. We also knew we could trust in them to deliver the best outcomes and that the work would be completed in a timely manner and within budget. Be it council matters, neighbour agreements, contracts, consents and compliance, third-party contractor arrangements or interaction with other consultants, Maven take these challenges in their stride.

Our reasons for choosing Maven have been validated several times over. They undertake civil engineering and land development consultancy work the way that I wish all consultants would. These guys are 100% invested in their profession and in everything they do. They literally live it.

Mark Peldmanis, GM Development, Wilshire Group