As the Gold Coast and Brisbane continue to prepare for next year’s Commonwealth Games, DMA Partners Associate Rob Christmas brings some insight from his experience as Project Leader reporting to the CEO of Queensland Events Limited during the Games’ feasibility stage.
Rob said as Director-Real Estate Advisory at PwC, he was engaged to provide strategic property analyses and economic advice to the CEO of Queensland Events Limited.
“My role largely involved developing high-level budgetary estimates on capital works requirements needed to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games,” Rob said.
“Very much in the early planning stage at the time, the final report included an assessment of existing sporting facilities identifying upgrades necessary to comply with the Commonwealth Games Association standards.”
Rob said that after performing the initial property audits the scope of the role was extended.
“The role performed by my team was extended to include financial modelling for the Commonwealth Games Athletes Village,” he said.
“This resulted in the State Government developing 29 hectares into more than 1,200 dwellings including both apartments and townhouses.”
DMA Partners Managing Director Ryan Andersen said that the process undertaken by Rob on the GC2018 project is similar DMA Partners’ approach on each of our clients’ developments where we look at all commercial factors that influence success.
“Robustly assessing market influences against the final property product to determine the best possible commercial outcome is what informs our final concepts and the viability of our clients’ property assets over the short, mid and longer terms,” Ryan said.
“It’s not about making a quick buck for our clients.
“We invest significant time into the early planning phase of a development to ensure that the project, irrespective of the sector, is financially viable for our clients and will perform functionally and financially.
“Our focus is on increasing investment value worth and profitability.
“It’s what we do best and certainly what we’ve built our reputation on.”
Ryan added that being able to offer clients this type of expertise comes from the deliberate mix of professional disciplines engaged within the business.
“DMA Partners is able to work with clients across the entire property cycle,” he said.
“Our inhouse team brings together experience from corporate and private developers and builders, and degree and post-graduate training in a wide range of disciplines such as engineering, construction, architecture and economics.
“Add to this deep experience from major projects like ‘once in a generation’ opportunities such as the GC2018, and DMA Partners is well-positioned to provide clients with investment certainty before they move forward to construction.”
Rob received a PwC STAR award for exceptional client feedback from the Queensland Government for his role on the GC2018 project.
The work delivered by Rob and his team was presented to Queensland State Cabinet as part of their decision to proceed to bid formally for the 2018 Games.
