A Culture of Community “VARSITY LAKES BRINGS TOGETHER THE WORLDS OF BUSINESS, ACADEMIA AND HOME IN A HARMONIOUS BLEND THAT IS RARELY SEEN. EVERY NOW AND THEN RESIDENTS WILL STOP ME IN THE STREET OR AT A FUNCTION AND TELL ME HOW MUCH THEY LOVE LIVING HERE. I GET THE SAME TYPE OF COMMENTS ALL THE […]
In pursuit of healthy livingMidway through development, the Varsity Lakes team paused to assess their efforts in creating a sustainable, healthy community.Bringing life to the lakeCarl challenged Dean to help the community make better use of Lake Orr. Though much loved for its scenic value, the lake was seriously under utilised as a venue for […]
A Place to learnVarsity Lakes was always going to become a place where residents could live, learn and play without leaving the community. By the end of 1999, when Varsity Lakes’ masterplanning was undertaken, Bond University had been operating for more than 10 years and had acquired a student base nearing 2,000, of whom approximately 50 […]
A Place to Belong “Varsity Lakes is a good example of a masterplanned community that will provide liveable spaces for many years to come … unlike standard suburbia which is simple and, therefore, unsustainable, Varsity Lakes embraces complexity and is, therefore, resilient. It has a long-term future.” Demetri Baches, DPZ Pacific ?THE BOOK OF VARSITY: Click the pictures […]
Homes with Style Lend Lease’s first homes at The Quay – eight three-storey waterfront terraces priced between$795,000 and $975,000 – targeted the‘baby boomer’ generation.While external architects crafted this development,the second generation of terrace homes were designed by Varsity Lakes’ internal team, led by Lend Lease Principal Architect Andrew Keag.Tales of successResidential sales continued strongly throughout 2003 […]
Engineering challenges &Housing innovationsEarly residential sales funded construction on the next villages. Work moved west along the ridge and south towards the lake.By early 2001, two new villages would be ready for market: North Shore Dress Circle (Dress Circle) and North Shore Hinterland (Hinterland). The Dress Circle commanded stunning views of Lake Orr and was […]
A Place to Live Collectively, the meandering roadways, abundant green and lake perfectly balance the trade and commerce that’s burgeoning within this pocket of the Gold Coast, making it a superb locale for work or play. What more could you ask for in a suburb?”Ron Clarke – Gold Coast City Mayor, 2004–2012THE BOOK OF VARSITY: Click […]
A Dream RealisedSpurred on by the state announcing the new Varsity Lakes Railway Station, business relocations to Varsity Lakes escalated from 2007 to 2009. ” Lend Lease has genuinely addressed the challenge of meeting the needs of people from all walks of life. They all have somewhere to live, somewhere to play, somewhere to gain education […]
Powerful Partnerships“VARSITY LAKES IS THE GOLD COAST OF TOMORROW. BEFORE VARSITY, WE HAD A LOT OF DIFFICULTY ARTICULATING THE ARGUMENT THAT YOU CAN COME TO THE COAST TO WORK AND TO PLAY. WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE ANYTHING ON THE GROUND, YOU ARE JUST SELLING A DREAM.” Grayson Perry, Australian Trade CommissionTHE BOOK OF VARSITY: Click the […]
Delivering the Dream”Varsity Central is a cosmopolitan business precinct at Varsity Lakes set aside for over 4,500 highly skilled professionals with expertise in areas such as information and communication technology(ICT), law, finance, education, professional services, medicine, general business services, retail and entertainment … Varsity Central fosters a competitive business community by supporting like-minded businesses with […]
A place to work”Varsity Lakes is unique in that it offers that rare blend of lifestyle and business. Varsity Lakes is the leading edge of what is effectively the new Gold Coast.”Bernard Salt, KPMGTHE BOOK OF VARSITY: Click the pictures to zoom in and read
Framework for the futureDrawing its inspiration from the European ‘village’of old, the masterplan blurred the lines between living and working areas. Homes would spill into the main commercial precinct and businesses would set up inhomes. Everything would be clustered within walking distance, especially within Varsity Central.THE BOOK OF VARSITY: Click the pictures to zoom in […]
“CITIES GROW; THEY EVOLVE. GREAT CITIES, LIKE PARIS, HAVE THE CAPACITY TO CHANGE WITHOUT LOSING THEIR APPEAL. THIS IS DUE TO THEIR STRONG URBAN FRAME. IN VARSITY CENTRAL, WE USED LONG, STRAIGHT STREETS, COUPLED WITH HIGH-QUALITY PUBLIC SPACES, TO CREATE A FRAME THAT WOULD ALLOW THE USE OF SITES TO CHANGE OVER TIME. ONE DAY […]
The ‘BOND’ storyIf the entrepreneurial Alan Bond had his way, Varsity Lakes would have been part of Bond UniversityIn 1986, when Alan Bond announced his intention to found Australia’s first private university on the site of the Burleigh Forest Estate (Burleigh Forest), he also unveiled plans to construct an expansive surrounding residential and business village. […]
Village of the futureConstruction on Varsity Lakes’ first residential village began in December 1999. As bulldozers carved wide new roads through the neglected former pine plantation,few imagined the sophisticated, cosmopolitan village that would soon take its place. In 12 short years, Varsity Lakes has become a model urban community, setting new standards in masterplanned development. The […]
