The Hive is a major placemaking project in central Townsville designed and master planned by Conrad Gargett.

DMA Partners were engaged to determine the optimum development strategy for this site.  To fully understand the opportunity our team went back to basics to fully understand the market demand for the proposed uses.  After undertaking the research internally, DMA Partners found that the key constraint to the project included the significant initial development costs in the upfront cash flow such that the project was not feasible in its current form.  The development was also far too big for the regional market and the structuring of the asset types made financing high risk.

DMA reconfigured the site plan to allow it to be staged according to market take up, therefore reducing the upfront capital required and simplifying the pre-leasing required to achieve financial close and a commercially successful project.  A new development strategy was then prepared and approved by the client group for execution.

DMA Partners has an ongoing role as the client’s Development Partner and working with Conrad Gargett as part of Stage 1, we have recently prepared a commercially led design for the commercial office space proposal to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). The scheme has received development approval in September 2021. Tender and Construction is due to be underway in 2022.

Master planning for the remainder of the stages is also ongoing as well as planning for the redevelopment of the Queens Hotel which sits on part of the site.