Somerfield residents got together for the first celebration of the year: a Chinese New Year celebration at Park by the Lake, which featured the Hong De Lion Dragon Dance Troupe and a firecracker display, with free fortune cookies for the kids. The lions threw out lucky oranges and lollies for the children to catch, with plenty of opportunities for photos to commemorate the day for families.
“We’re excited to celebrate the Year of the Rooster and to support the Chinese community at Somerfield with our first event of the year,” says Maxwell Shifman, Chief Operating Officer at Intrapac Property, the developer behind the award-winning Somerfield development. “We wish everyone a wonderful Chinese New Year.”
Somerfield was recently announced as the winner of two Urban Development Institute of Australia Excellence Awards: Best Residential Development and Environmental Excellence.
To keep up to date with events and news in Somerfield, ‘like’ the Facebook page:www.facebook.com/somerfieldkeysborough or visit www.somerfield.com.au.
www.intrapac.com.au
Somerfield residents finished off a great year of community events with the last in the calendar – a Christmas party at Pirate Park on a warm Sunday afternoon on 11th December.
Families in the neighbourhood were able to meet Santa in his inflatable grotto, alongside a jumping castle. Faces were painted with festive cheer and a colouring-in station kept the youngest family members busy. Gingerbread reindeer were given out, as well as stickers and plenty of great prizes for the dress-up and dancing competitions, including a special prize for parents.
“The Somerfield Christmas event is always a great way to finish the year. This year, we’re also celebrating the community we have built in Keysborough over the past eight years as the last blocks and townhomes go up for sale,” says Intrapac Property’s Chief Operating Officer, Maxwell Shifman. “It’s the last chance to buy into the development and a great Christmas present for those purchasers.”
Volunteer Somerfield Social Club members were wearing their new t-shirts so everyone knew who they were. They are the residents who work hard behind-the-scenes all year, with support from Intrapac Property, to put on great events. Others throughout the year included Halloween, Diwali, Chinese New Year, Talk Like a Pirate Day and Easter.
All at Intrapac Property and the Somerfield Social Club wish you a happy holiday season.
To keep up to date with events and news in Somerfield, ‘like’ the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/somerfieldkeysborough or visit www.somerfield.com.au.
Somerfield Rewarded for its Environmental Excellence:
Innovative Keysborough Development Wins TWO UDIA (Victoria) Excellence Awards
Intrapac Property and Brencorp Properties are proud to announce their integrated residential development Somerfield, in Keysborough in Melbourne’s southeast, has been awarded two Urban Development Institute of Australia Excellence Awards: Best Residential Development and Environmental Excellence.
“We’re thrilled to be recognised by the UDIA for our environmental initiatives at Somerfield, which planned a decade ago blazed the trail for sustainability features that are only now becoming industry standards” says Intrapac Property Chief Operating Officer Maxwell Shifman.
It’s not the first time the development’s innovative environmental approach has been rewarded. Somerfield’s outstanding environmental record was also recognised when it became the first UDIA EnviroDevelopment accredited under the national scheme in 2011 in the elements of ecology, water and community.
“Even though Somerfield presents much like a greenfield development, the engineering issues and numerous planning issues experienced were much closer to those typically associated with brownfield projects,” says Shifman. “To be recognised by the UDIA at the end of all the hard work is extremely rewarding.”
The history of market gardening and uses such as dog kennels and chicken farms, meant the land at Somerfield was significantly encumbered and ecologically degraded. Intrapac developed a plan to overcome the various restrictive uses and free up the land for residential development, and rehabilitate the natural ecology of the area in the process.
Interspersed between the beautifully designed homes is 16.7% of the site area devoted to open space, including award-winning landscaping that incorporate a range of uses such as local parks and playgrounds, wetlands and expansive natural parklands, with every home within 400 metres of open space.
The landscaping also includes a Reflections garden designed by Chelsea Flower Show winning garden designer Wes Fleming and a pirate-themed playground with public art and basketball courts, as well as barbecue facilities. Footpaths and cycling tracks link the
development in all directions, with connections to the established suburbs to the north, as well as the local commercial and community precinct.
“Environmental excellence is important in all our developments and we’re also celebrating being the developer with the most UDIA Enviro Certifications ever achieved in a six-month period,” says Shifman. “We are constantly pushing to remain at the forefront of what’s possible in terms of sustainability.”
The Somerfield development was an early adopter of cutting edge features such as recycled water (before it became mandatory), water sensitive urban design, quality design guidelines and high-speed fibre to the home broadband internet access (before the existence of NBN).
Another key innovation was in the wetland entry at Perry Road. The area required to retain the volumes of water involved would have considerably reduced the developable area in the south-eastern precinct if it constructed using conventional design.
“Our solution was to construct a hybrid basin system, partly natural, wetland style, and partially a deep, structural basin, using stone walls as hard edging,” says Shifman. “This created an absolutely stunning entry feature and also helped increase the net developable area for residential lots.”
Overall, Somerfield serves as an ideal model of appropriate urban renewal, having taken severely ecologically degraded and environmentally impacted infill land, and turning it into a state of the art, beautiful and highly sought-after land estate.
Its popularity extends to a variety of ethnic communities as well as demographics, partly due to the different lot sizes available and a new townhouse offering. It’s close to the CBD, the beaches, great schooling and amenities and as a gateway to the Mornington Peninsula.
Now in its 21st year, the Urban Development Institute’s Awards for Excellence in Victoria are a chance for the industry to showcase their best projects in a celebration of contemporary knowledge, skills and innovation in the urban development industry, recognising the outstanding achievements of high quality developments.
The award was presented to Intrapac Property at a gala awards lunch held on Friday, 2 December 2016 at the Crown Palladium Ballroom.
Somerfield has truly embraced the tradition of Halloween, with 2016 being the best turn-out yet for the annual Halloween event held at Pirate Park.
This year, face painters made the children look the part while they competed for best-dressed and best monster dancer in competitions with great prize vouchers. They munched on mini Halloween-themed cupcakes and jumped on a ‘crazy cottage’ bouncy castle, before heading out for trick or treating.
Parents got into the spirit of the season with pre-carved pumpkins vying for top position in the Halloween pumpkin carving competition and residents put up orange balloons to indicate they had plenty of Halloween treats left.
“Halloween is a fun time for children to create childhood memories and within a close-knit community like Somerfield, it’s also a great time to catch up with neighbours,” says Maxwell Shifman, Intrapac Property’s Chief Operating Officer. “As a healthy community, we also like to encourage kids to get outdoors in our many parks and playgrounds, so we once again offered them a healthy Halloween treat when they visited our sales centre.”
Somerfield has dedicated 20% of its total development to open spaces – from playgrounds with climbing and active play facilities to bike trails and wetlands. In keeping with the theme of residents being able to enjoy the outdoors and a healthier life, Intrapac Property provided residents with free red apples as a point of difference to the traditional sugary sweets usually on offer.
It’s said that if you can peel the apple in one go on Halloween, you’ll be able to throw the peel over your shoulder and it will reveal the first letter of the person you will marry.
The volunteer Somerfield Social Club worked hard behind-the-scenes to put on the Halloween event, with support from Intrapac Property, and many more community events are planned throughout the year. To keep up-to-date with the events, like www.facebook.com/SomerfieldKeysborough.
SOMERFIELD WELCOMES DIWALI “FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS”
Somerfield residents in Keysborough came together to celebrate the ancient Indian festival of lights, known as Diwali, with a colourful display of Bollywood dancing, lighting candles and sparklers, as well as enjoying Indian sweets.
“Diwali is associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity,” explains Intrapac Property’s Chief Operating Officer Maxwell Shifman, the developer behind the award-winning Somerfield development. “It’s a special and colourful celebration and one we’re proud Somerfield residents have embraced again this year.”
The event was put on by the Somerfield Social Club, with support from Intrapac Property. The volunteer-run group is committed to celebrating cultural diversity in Somerfield, including Chinese New Year and International Children’s Day events.
There are still chances to become part of the thriving Somerfield community, which is now almost sold out, with the final new releases coming to market – including a new release of luxury townhomes and absolute park front lots in the prestigious Parkview Precinct. These final releases won’t last long.
To keep up to date with events and news in Somerfield, ‘like’ the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/somerfieldkeysborough
Intrapac Property is proud to announce the final release of land in Somerfield, the ground-breaking development that has transformed Keysborough and created a thriving community, with a mix of premium homes and beautifully landscaped surroundings.
“The time has come to release the final selection of land at Somerfield, and we’re going out on a high,” says Intrapac Property’s Chief Operating Officer Maxwell Shifman. “The growth and development of the neighbourhood has been extremely rewarding, and the popularity of the estate has exceeded our expectations, with strong demand for both land and our townhomes.”
There’s a great selection of lot sizes within the final release, including a limited number of parkfront lots. Purchasers buy into a thriving community with a social club and active resident’s committee running community events throughout the year, including: a Christmas Party, Chinese New Year Celebration, Easter Egg Hunt & Petting Zoo, Talk Like a Pirate Day, Halloween, Dwali Festival of Light, and group activities for kids & parents alike!
“Surrounding amenity, as well as parks, open spaces, playgrounds and the high quality of the estate have made this release hot property!” says Harvey Carretero from Red 23, Somerfield’s sales agency.
The final opportunity to be part of the prestigious Somerfield development includes an 8 lot release, as well as the Parkview Platinum release of 3 lots ranging from 392m2 to 518m2, with frontages directly facing a key park. House packages are available from Melbourne’s leading builders and the display village is open 7 days a week.
Residents at Somerfield have access to great shopping at Chadstone (17 minutes’ by car) or Southland, as well as Parkmore shopping centre and a soon to be built supermarket. They can take a walk along Mordialloc beach (around eight minutes’ drive) or have a game of golf at one of the courses located nearby.
For those who would rather stay home, Somerfield homes are set amongst beautiful surrounds, which include award-winning landscape designs, boardwalks along the wetlands and secluded tree-lined streets. Each home is within 400m of parkland or wetland and has access to high-speed fibre Internet.
Somerfield is nestled among established suburbs with all essential amenities close by, including top primary and secondary schools, such as Haileybury College. Monash University also has two campuses less than 15 minutes’ drive away. Healthcare facilities and hospitals can also be accessed within minutes.
“With all the surrounding area offers, as well as the quality that sets Somerfield apart, these irreplaceable and unrepeatable lots won’t last long” says Shifman.
Purchasers can register their interest by visiting www.somerfield.com.au or calling the sales team on 1300 570 460.
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A new bus route through Keysborough South will start on Sunday 28 August, 2016.
The new Route 709 will run from Noble Park station to Mordialloc station via Keylana Drive, Westwood Boulevard and Perry Road in Keysborough South, and Bloomfield Road in Noble Park.
It will connect local passengers to the Frankston and Dandenong train lines, and Route 902 Smart Bus on Springvale Road, as well as providing residents south of Cheltenham Road with a direct connection to Parkmore Shopping Centre.
The new service will run every 30 minutes between 6am – 7pm, Monday to Friday. It will run every hour from 7pm to around 9pm during the week.
On Saturdays, services will run every half hour from 7am – 7pm, and every hour until 9pm. On Sunday services will start at 8.30am and run every 30 minutes until 7pm, then every hour until 9pm.
Somerfield residents and Keysborough South Action Group are to be congratulated on their hard work in making this happen.
Somerfield Social Club is holding an Easter event for its youngest residents on Sunday 13 March from 10am – 12pm at the Pirate Adventure Playground on Westwood Boulevard. It will feature an animal petting farm, face-painter, balloonist and a visit from the Easter bunny with a festive Easter egg hunt.
“Easter is meant to herald spring and new life, but in Australia it’s also a precursor to colder days to come,” says Max Shifman, Chief Operating Officer for Intrapac Property, the company behind the project. “Our Easter event is therefore both a chance to celebrate Easter and a chance to catch up with friends (old and new) before the winter months keep us all indoors more.”
At Somerfield, Easter means Easter egg hunts around the Pirate Adventure Playground, a balloonist twisting and turning a simple balloon into a work of art, face painters transforming toddlers into adorable Easter bunnies, a petting zoo to educate and entertain the youngest in the development, and plenty of smiles.
“Somerfield is proud of its diverse community and we look forward to seeing how all the cultures in our development celebrate this special time, especially the kids,” says Shifman. “We encourage children to dress up in their Easter outfits, but also in their own cultural outfits to showcase all the colourful character we have in the neighbourhood.”
Somerfield Social Club is run by a team of volunteers, together with the help of Intrapac Property. Come down and support the work they do to bring events such as this one to the Somerfield community.
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Despite fierce competition for Lunar New Year events in the region, Somerfield residents – young and old – turned out in the hundreds to celebrate the Year of the Monkey with their neighbours and to watch a magical lion dance and firecracker display in the estate.
“It’s important for us to celebrate all the cultures within our diverse community at Somerfield,” says Maxwell Shifman, Chief Operating Officer for Intrapac Property, the company behind the popular estate. “So, we are pleased to see the event growing in numbers. This was the third year Lunar New Year was celebrated at Somerfield and it was our best turn-out yet.”
One of the youngest at the event was three-month-old Riley Soo, dressed up in traditional Chinese New Year costume alongside his brothers Hayden (5) and Tyler (3). Their grandparents Dennis and Soo Ngeeann wore matching Chinese slogan t-shirts translated as “Everything is Successful”. They brought gifts for their grandchildren, including almond tarts and love letter biscuits, a nod to Valentine’s Day also being celebrated on the day.
One of the first couples to buy a home in Somerfield, Patrick and Noëlla Gueit, said they go to as many events as they can in Somerfield: “It’s so good to be able to connect with people who live nearby, because the world is so impersonal these days. Many people don’t even know people down their own street, so it’s a great opportunity for us to make new friends.”
Hien-Ly Phom met her teenage neighbours Isabelle and Skye at a similar Somerfield event and now they walk together to attend all the events with Hien-Ly and her three-year-old daughter Delta.
“It’s amazing, you forget there’s so many people in your neighbourhood,” says Isabelle. “It’s nice to connect with them.”
Lucky oranges symbolising wealth were thrown out to the crowds, as well as free fortune cookies for the kids. Firecrackers were also set off to ward off evil spirits and the colourful lions were a hit with the crowds, scrambling for photos with them after the show.
Somerfield is now over 90% sold, but new packages of land are soon to be released onto the market, as well as new 2 & 3 bedroom apartments starting at $395,000.
www.somerfield.com.au
Somerfield Newsletter Summer 2016
