Highgate’s point of difference as Development Management and Property Advisory firm is we have facilitated and delivered developments we proposed.
Highgate’s first project was as student accommodation development we conceived and facilitated. We saw in the early 1990’s that Universities were expanding and looking to attract more overseas students. Acting on that we contacted the Vice Chancellors at Australia’s leading Universities in NSW, Vic and Qld to guage their interest in developing student accommodation. The property markets were down in 1991 and interest rates were around 14% which made the task of locating a suitable site for the right cost easier. We negotiated the purchase of a heritage woolstore in Ultimo on behalf of UTS and managed the development of a 105 bed facility also securing finance for UTS and setting up the development structuring.
In the first few years we also took on major Construction Management roles such as acting for Malaysia Airlines to create its new Sydney headquarters at Spring Street. Whilst we don’t offer CM services now, undertaking that type of work gave us great experience in managing the risks associated with construction and contract management skills we apply to other procurement activities we engage in today.
In the late 1990’s we developed a medium density development in Chatswood for an overseas investment group who relied and trusted completely on our handling of the project to provide them a successful commercial outcome and group of satisfied buyers. We value the trust clients place in us and the commercial confidence our relationships with them are built on .
We finessed our project control systems in those early years being early adopters of data based Project Information Management systems to give up leverage to manage a large workload and to help make our outcomes consistent. That effort has continued and is still progressing within our ISO accredited Quality and WHS management systems.
Our structured approach to planning and managing our projects gives our private clients reassurance their investment risks are minimised. Government also recognises Highgate’s best practice approach and have appointed us to consultant panels in NSW, Qld and Vic. Highgate also provides government with a Gateway Review service where we review and report on the ‘health’ of major infrastructure projects and whether they will deliver on their objectives. The same scrutiny we apply to those reviews is applied to the projects we plan and manage.
‘The Heights’ (completed in 2020) was a mixed use development in Balgowlah Heights which we proposed to a development group. Highgate as Development Managers identified the site, negotiated its purchase and managed the development from start to completion on behalf of the investment company.
Highgate continues to act for private and government groups. Regardless of whether we are undertaking a feasibility of a 250Ha industrial site, preparing a business case and procurement strategy for a new $400M hospital or managing the planning and delivery of a commercial office tower, our aim is always the same and that is to:
- give Clients absolute confidence that their interests and objectives are being well looked after;
- look for opportunities and find the best and most creative ways to significantly increase value to our Clients and reduce the risks they are exposed to; and
- deliver 100% on the Clients requirements.
Therefore, we don’t just routinely plan projects and deliver them on time, cost and quality, we deliver solutions to surpass our clients expectations, its our point of difference. Some examples are:
We planned and delivered the $180M Gehry Partners designed UTS Business School which is one of Australia’s most challenging buildings to design and construct by implementing a construction procurement method that involved early contractor involvement to overcome the buildability issues and provide budget and time certainty in what many would have seen as a very unlikely outcome.- We saved a property investor from an almost certain significant loss by taking over their project and securing planning permissions in a very short time frame. We achieved this by identifying the key issues quickly and navigating the best solutions including applying a good dose of emotional intelligence to get everyone ‘buying in’ regardless of their position to allow the project to proceed.
- The Reserve Bank of Australia utilized our knowledge and expertise in automated warehousing projects to review a storage facility in Victoria receiving some very insightful observations from us.
Highgate is one of Australia’s longest established Project Management consultancy groups. Over the years we have continually questioned how we should craft our service to give the best outcomes to our Clients. We look forward to demonstrating to you our points of difference that will ensure your project is planned and delivered with the best chance of success.