Sydney city and its surrounding suburbs are often underestimated by overseas counterparts such as New York and London in terms of what it has to offer.

The style and quality of the major development projects are 2nd to NONE. With its sparkling harbour and lush greenery peppered throughout the outer city suburbs, it’s a developer’s dream landscape to work with. And the inspiration shows in their work that we are about to look at.

The redevelopment projects we are about to explore ooze sophistication and truly complement the spectacular natural beauty Sydney offers. It’s a city in a league of its own.

Lords Group, a client of Gunlake Concrete alone, has been delivering projects in the Eastern Suburbs for Fortis Development Group who have a pipeline of $1.25 billion projects currently underway in Sydney.

Lords Group, in partnership with Fortis Development Group, never disappoint.

With its natural beauty and abundance of cafes, restaurants, and retail shops comes a heavily populated coastal area. The most densely populated city in the country. Navigating and completing large development projects in a city like Sydney takes skills, experience and meticulous attention to detail.

Gunlake has an extensive list of projects it has completed across our sprawled-out city. Ensuring projects run smoothly has become more of an art at Gunlake. At the end of the article, you can jump in and check out our product range. We have something for every project, such as special-class concrete to meet the strictest engineering specifications, architectural concrete that is excellent for decorative options, block-filled concrete for heavy-duty commercial applications and more.

Let’s dive into some of the projects – completed and to be completed in the next 1-2 years. We will also go through how Gunlake works closely with its partners to achieve their redevelopment visions as smoothly as high-gloss polished concrete.

1 Mona Road Darling Point

Wedged between Elizabeth Bay and Point Piper, you have a stunning Sydney suburb – Darling Point. At 1 Mona Road, Darling Point will stand the extraordinary Mona. A 7-level apartment building on 1200+sqm of land. Each apartment will have a terrace or balcony with views across the city and harbour.

The building design exudes sophistication and will perfectly complement the natural beauty of the landscape where it stands on the edge of Sydney Harbor. The exterior design of the building will be completed by MHN Design Union architects, who won the Australian Institute of Architects Best in Practice Prize 2020 and the Interior design by Richards Stanisic, who completed the interior for The Buena in Mosman.

60% of the apartments within Mona have already sold for a hefty price tag. The penthouse sold for $13.75 million, and the sub penthouse for $7.8 million.

When Gunlake Concrete took this project on, they knew it required a meticulous level of attention to detail and a high-quality concrete finish. With Verifi technology, management knew with complete confidence that Mona would receive the highest quality of service and concrete.

Verifi is an automated concrete slumping technology that replaces the need for manual slumping by concrete agitator drivers, which was often fraught with error and guesswork. It monitors and maintains the slump consistency and accuracy of the concrete. Gunlake concrete will always be in specification.

Another neighbouring project worth mentioning is Atlas, a world-class grandeur-designed residential building. Construction is underway and set to be built by 2024. Look out for more to come on Atlas in our next article.

Neil Perry’s Baker Bleu Double Bay

Image courtesy of Baker Bleu.

Double Bay residences are in for a treat! Welcome to the neighbour Baker Bleu. 

Bakery Bleu is a delicious joint venture between celebrity Chef Neil Perry and Bakers Mike and Mia Russell. It is located at 2 Guilfoyle Avenue. A spot well-known to locals and visitors alike.

Gunlake Concrete proudly worked with Lords Group on an A-grade $13 mil refurbishment of the existing commercial building. Added three floors of boutique offices and ground-floor retail space. Perry and the Russells snagged a ground floor 260-square-metre space there!

The exterior design of the entire building receives the tick of approval from us. It perfectly aligns with emerging trends, including sweeping arch windows letting in lots of natural light.

As for the interior, imagine a Swedish Willy Wonker’s chocolate factory but smaller, modern and lustrous, with state-of-the-art equipment imported from Germany.

IF Architecture had the pleasure of designing the interior of the bakery. Their designs transport you to another time and place. We did say Double Bay residents are in for a treat, and we weren’t just referring to the delicious Baker Bleu pastries.

This has been a highly anticipated and high-profile build for locals and Sydney siders. Gunlake Concrete is no stranger to these types of projects, and we know the attention it receives. It is also only a 5 min walk from the Gunlake head office. We are predicting regular walks for bagels and coffee to admire the high-quality finished concrete floors we are sure Perry, the Russells and the rest of the Baker Bleu team will be chuffed with.

Winx Stadium

Images courtesy of Taylor | Australia and the Australian Turf Club.

Spring 2022 saw the unveiling of the 5043 sqm Winx Stand at the Royal Randwick Racecourse. The Australian Turf Club should be proud of this spectacular grandstand that can fit a whopping 4000 people. Taylor Construction, a client of Gunlake Concrete, completed this major project. Well done to Taylor’s team that worked on this project. Taylor Construction, founded in 1994 by Mark Taylor, is a dynamic construction and property delivery partner with a clear purpose – connecting people with spaces that meet their needs.

The Winx Stand will undoubtedly see some magical moments. From exhibition spaces to music festivals. It can host events of all types. What to expect from the new grandstand,

• A mammoth two-story modern event facility
• An abundance of light-filled spaces offering seamless indoor and outdoor flow and greenery
• A new bridge linking the Winx to the Queen Elizabeth II Grandstand
• An open-air rooftop space facing the eastern beaches
• A conference space that can host 3000 attendees
• High-quality technology solutions such as operable walls, PA systems and 70+ screens
• World-class catering that can serve 1800 seated guests and 4000 guests for cocktail style dining

And, of course, we need to acknowledge the remarkable Winx mare that the stadium was named after. This record-breaking horse was a true one-of-a-kind. Earning $26,451,175 in prize money during the span of her career, with 37 wins and three-second places from 43 starts. The Australian Turf Club commented, ‘there may never be another thoroughbred like WINX, nor one to break the records this mightiest of mares set in Australian racing.

Gunlake Concrete is VERY accustomed to working with major developments like the Winx Stadium.

We understand budget blowouts are one of the most important (avoidable) issues for major contracts. In our experience, budget blows can often be as simple as an innocent miscommunication, particularly when paid-by-the-hour contractors are involved. Gunlake Concrete employs the Where’s my Concrete app to minimise errors that can come from miscommunication significantly.

Where’s my Concrete allows for live data for dispatch updates and transparency on client deliveries. Clients are in control. We also critically analyse the data to improve our operations.

Looking Forward

2023 and beyond is looking pretty exciting for Eastern Suburbs residents and visitors. There is a lot to look out for in our fabulous city. A stroll through Double Bay for a fresh croissant from Baker Bleu as we admire the stunning exteriors and interiors of the exciting new developments. A Saturday race day at the NEW Winx stadium. We bet the new owners of Mona apartments are very EAGER to move in and be a part of this buzzing neighbourhood!

We look forward to many more developments to come in the Eastern Suburbs and further!