Forest Lake real estate – a neighbourhood that bursts with individuality and timeless appeal
This is the story of how Brisbane’s most liveable address was created by Australia’s largest and most recognised developer of urban communities, Delfin Lend Lease (Delfin).
It chronicles the transformation of a cattle property, a remnant pine plantation and a former military encampment, into a community that has set new standards in residential development in Queensland, while becoming a special home to more than 22.000 people.
Just 30 minutes drive from the heart of Brisbane city you’ll find an urban environment that’s been designed and developed with people in mind. Spread over 1.010 hectares. it retains a sense of intimacy rarely observed in larger suburbs on the city’s outskirts.
It has a feeling of bushland isolation, suspended in a frame of towering eucalypts and native grasses, but features all the conveniences of a small town-shopping centres, schools, child care centres, restaurants, retirement Master Planned Estates, sports fields. medical facilities, fitness centres and community halls. A broad tree-lined boulevard dissects the suburb and rambles to the entrance of the M1 motorway.
Every home is within walking distance of an astonishing network of green space: more than 130 hectares of parks, water features, wetlands and bushland corridors linked by 38 kilometres of walking and cycling paths. It’s also one of the city’s most affordable areas to live, yet the banks of its majestic 11 hectare recreational lake are lined with million-dollar homes.
Infinite possibilities for an ideal lifestyle abound in this award-winning residential neighbourhood which is located just 20 minutes from the Brisbane CBD.
The district boasts a unique layout, design and style that all residents are proud to call home. A suburb where families create those memorable, intangible living experiences that last a lifetime.
A vision that redefined the Australian lifestyle
In the 1950’s, the great Australian dream of a family home in the suburbs, was one with a big backyard and a Hills Hoist clothes line. Today, people’s lives have changed and their dreams have changed too. Not everyone wants, or needs, a large backyard. Not everyone needs, or can afford, a large home.
In 1990, when the master plan for Forest Lake was first drafted family homes on standard-sized allotments were still the predominant form of housing in Brisbane making up two-thirds of all the Brisbane City Council’s development approvals Finding a smaller home, or even a large home on a low maintenance block was almost impossible.
Delfin’s extensive research at the time showed that Brisbane’s demographics were changing: people were struggling to find homes to suit their needs as household sizes decreased and the number of older people living alone and single-parent households increased.
Forest Lake has been considered the benchmark in master planned development in Queensland for more than a decade. In 1999, before construction on Forest Lake had even finished, the Urban Development Institute of Australia judged the development to be Australia’s number one community.
Experience a refreshed way of life
Home owners want something better than a haphazard placement of houses, bordered by kerb and channel. As much as they want a home, they also want a lifestyle-a place where they know their neighbours and can contribute to the life of the community, where they can raise children, retire, and change their lifestyle as their own lives change.
Delfin’s master plan for Forest Lake focussed government attention on upgrading regional infrastructure in the western corndor (now identified as a primary growth area), establishing a self-contained residential development with a vibrant town centre at its heart, protecting and connecting regional green spaces and drawing from core principles of sustainability. It also proposed a new shared destination for the region Brisbane’s largest recreational lake.
At the core of the vision for Forest Lake were properties of varying sizes, some much smaller than had ever been introduced on a wide scale within the State. Additionally, there were the issues of the proposed town centre, schools. child care centres, a retirement village and a number of master planned estates each with open space, units and a lake as the central plank.
The definition of small-lot housing has been rewritten
Three primary activity centres, incorporating education facilities. convenience shopping and community facilities, were strategically positioned within the structure plan to allow each residential master planned estate convenient access to these services.
A fourth activity centre, in the form of a mixed-use town centre, was then placed at the geographic heart of the community, creating a focal point for community interaction.
Just north of the town centre, the land formed a natural drainage basin, the perfect site for the jewel in this residential development – the lake.
A person’s housing needs can often change with their stage of life Small lot housing on a broad scale had not been experienced within the state and many people thought it never would. Delfin believed small lots and other forms of more dense housing offered valuable solutions to help manage SEG’s growth. Delfin believed that self-contained suburbs with higher densities than the standard eight to 10 dwellings per hectare could help create a more sustainable development pattern for SEO and provide housing suitable for all sectors of the community. Of course, the design and layout of these suburbs was critical to their success.
In 1991/92. some 73 villa allotments of 320 square metres were released at Forest Lake. Most of these were located in already established in the Master Planned Estates. Priced at around $31,500 at a time when traditional allotments in the development were selling at prices close to $50,000, they generally sold within weeks of each release. So successful did the villas prove to be that in the late 90’s Delfin also introduced the town cottage” on 250 square metres.
Zero lot lines, in which homes were built on one side boundary, enabled land on small lots to be used more efficiently and housing covenants ensured the homes were designed with high standards of quality, privacy and practicality in mind.
An inspiring layout plan that led the industry on a voyage of discovery
Forest Lake was divided into 22 Master Planned Estates – with 14 of them averaging around 350 lots per estate and eight smaller residential precincts of between 50 and 130 lots. The size of each area was determined by the surrounding topography and vegetation
Greentree Pocket, Brooklands, Pine Village. The Cascades and Sanctuary Pocket are all examples of residential precincts While some estates feature up to 700 lots. others were just slightly larger than residential precincts, with around 200 lots. Each one of Forest Lake’s Master Planned Estates and residential precincts offers a special experience
Before each Master Planned Estates or residential precinct was created, Delfin’s entire Forest Lake team would review its proposed layout location and natural features, collaborating on ways to enhance the estates emerging character. No detail was too minor even the materials used within park shelters or the treatments applied to road thresholds were considered in the context of the estates overall identity
In 1997, when 10 Master Planned Estates had been completed (and work had begun on a further twelve areas). Forest Lake was recognised as a suburb in its own right and allocated the postcode 4078.
Living in a Master-Planned Community
When it comes to finding your perfect home or investment property, it is just as important to consider the location, community and surroundings as it is to find an amazing floor plan and design. We also want a great location close to attractions, public transport and main roads.
Forest Lake has it all – access to everything for a life well lived. Public transport, medical centres, retirement living, sporting clubs and facilities, private and public schools, shopping hubs, as well as access to freeways leading to the CBD, Ipswich and the Gold Coast.
Established housing comes in various shapes and sizes to match every budget – first home buyers, up-graders, down-sizers and retirees. Small easy to maintain cottage blocks, lakeside living and acreage properties.
By Brisbane standards. Forest Lake is a relatively new suburb (circa 25 years old), so the housing is of a consistent high quality and standard.
Quintessential living in a quiet leafy township
Not only does that mean that your new street looks tidy and modern, but the consistency of quality also lends itself well to stable growth in property prices.
Above all else, it is the people who surround you will make your house feel like home. Master-planned communities often attract like-minded people who love the same nearby social groups, services and surroundings as you do. You may just find some good friends in your neighbours, which also provides a wonderful environment for kids to grow up in.
In short, Forest Lake is like a small, self-contained city. It is home to a variety of businesses, shops, restaurants and services. This suburb was designed to offer one place where people can not only live, but also work, shop and relax. For families, private and public schools are nearby. For busy professionals, many amenities take care of the daily details while neighbourhood shopping centres offer the rest. A community built for your utmost convenience.
