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More Orange apartment blocks likely after half of 103 Prince Street development already sold
October 6, 2022
By Peter Holmes
The building company behind the apartment and townhouse development at 103 Prince Street says the pace at which off-the-plan properties have sold means it will likely pitch new apartment blocks in the city in coming years.
“Absolutely,” said Ben Small, who represents Dubbo-based developer Maas Group in the project. “We’d love to continue. Obviously we’ll get this one sold out and fingers crossed we can secure another site and go again.”
Half of the properties have already been bought, which Small described as an “outstanding” result.
“The thing to remember is that this is the first of its kind in Orange, so we’re creating a new market,” he said. “To be 50 percent sold before doing a launch is a huge effort. We’re extremely happy.”
Small told The Orange News Examiner that the overwhelming majority of buyers, who will be able to begin moving in midway through 2024, are locals.
“Which really shows there is a need for a product like this,” he said. “The typical buyer is a downsizer coming off substantial land, or a big house that needs a lot of maintenance.
“There really hasn't been a product for them that is low-maintenance, brand new, single level, very secure and has views. It ticked a lot of boxes for people.”
He said there were first home buyers and a couple of investors in the mix.
The two penthouses have sold. Small would not reveal the sale price but said they were definitely record-setting given the dearth of apartments in Orange.
The development will have basement parking and a public park maintained by Orange City Council will separate the townhouses - priced from $1.65 million to $2.1 million - and the apartments, which start at $485,000 for a one-bedder, $750,000 for two bedrooms and $1.1 million for three beds.
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103 Prince Street will not have a gym or a pool. This, said Small, was in order to keep strata fees down.
“We’ve done a level 4 rooftop entertaining area with barbecues and seating and an indoor residents' lounge. That will have stunning views over Orange and back to Mount Canobolas.”
Pets will be allowed in the townhouses and the apartments.
“Since Covid you cannot deny any resident a pet as they are considered a companion," Small said. "If you have an investment property you can say whether you want a tenant to have a pet or not, but from an owner’s point of view [it’s allowed].”
Affordable housing will not be part of the complex. Former councillor Stephen Nugent had led the push for low income properties to be baked into Orange City Council’s sale contract with a developer.
He told council in April 2021: "I had seen this particular development as a fantastic opportunity to incorporate some social and affordable housing into a new development at a location which is very close, in walking distance, to the CBD. People do not necessarily need to have a car to get around."
Small said that any plans to include affordable housing in the project “all got scrapped some time ago, it’s purely residential”.
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