Buyers who have waited nearly six years to move into their off-the-plan townhouses can breathe easy, the new owner of a Narrabundah estate has announced. David O'Keeffe, managing director of Madison Construction, said the company's first priority would be to finish the 29 units already sold at the Sierra residential development at 20 Leahy Street, now renamed Eagle Ridge.
Those who bought into the project have been waiting nearly two years to hear what would happen to their investments after the original developer, Project Coordination, went into voluntary administration in March last year, leaving the project unfinished. The company was estimated to have owed $25 million to about 200 creditors, and the future of the Sierra development, along with other half-finished projects, was thrown into uncertainty.
Construction works on the site, which was locked up shortly before Project Coordination announced the voluntary administration, have now restarted. Mr O'Keeffe said he hoped existing buyers would be able to move into their units by March next year. 'The builder, Baden & Co, and the company are working out there six days a week to get this project completed as quickly as possible to the standard that is expected by the buyers,' he said.
Completing the remaining 14 unsold units would be the company's second priority, Mr O'Keeffe said, and he hoped to start marketing them by January or February next year. The 45-unit development was listed for sale early this year by Matt Winter from Colliers on behalf of Deloitte as receivers and managers, who approached Mr O'Keeffe about purchasing it.
Mr O'Keeffe was advised in April this year that Madison Construction had been successful in buying the development, but due to the complicated receivership process they were not able to settle until mid-November. 'It was like a game of snakes and ladders where you never knew whether your next move was up or down,' he said. The delays gave the company time to do due diligence on the existing works, which revealed some issues but confirmed that structural work and in-ground services were done well.
