Walker Corporation

Walker Corporation
Company typePrivate
IndustryProperty Development
Founded1972
FoundersAlec Walker
Lang Walker
Headquarters
Sydney
,
Australia
Area served
Australia, United States, Canada, Fiji, Malaysia
Websitewalkercorp.com.au

Walker Corporation is an Australian privately-owned property development company.

Most notably, Walker Corporation is responsible for the development and restoration of several significant Australian sites, including King Street Wharf, Finger Wharf, Broadway Shopping Centre and Rhodes Waterside shopping centre in Sydney.[1]

History

Walker Corporation was founded in 1964 by Lang and Alec Walker, initially as an earthmoving and civil engineering business[2] until 1972 when Lang Walker formed The Walker Group and expanded into property development.[3] Walker Corporation was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 1994.[4] In 1999, Lang Walker sold his shares in Walker Corporation to Australand (now Frasers Property), reserving the right to reuse the Walker Corporation name after January 2003.[5] Lang Walker exercised that right in 2003, renaming McRoss Developments Pty Ltd to Walker Corporation.[6] In 2006, Walker Corporation sold over A$1.1 billion worth of assets to Mirvac, retaining its industrial and some of its commercial and retail interests.[7]

Developments since 2020

In 2011 Walker Corporation began development of Collins Square, then the largest commercial mixed-use development in Australia, with construction completed in 2019.[8][9]

In 2014 Walker Corporation was selected by the Government of Queensland and Redland City Council as the preferred partner to redevelop Toondah Harbour,[10] a 67-hectare (170-acre) site[11] which the government had declared a Priority Development Area located in Redland City, Queensland. The project was a source of controversy,[12] with parts of the proposed development area covering a Ramsar site.[13] In August 2016 Walker Corporation used a meeting with Federal Minister for the Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg to lobby for boundary changes to reduce the size of the Ramsar site, described by the company as a matter of “urgent national interest.”[14] The company released revised plans in 2018, reducing the proposed land reclamation area by 12 hectares (30 acres) and reducing the impact on neighbouring Cassim Island.[15] In 2022 the company released the project’s Environmental Impact Statement, which was examined by the Government following public consultation.[16]

In 2015 Walker Corporation released plans for its largest international development Senibong Cove,[17] a 16-hectare (40-acre) development located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. In 2016 the company's plans for a redevelopment of Adelaide's Festival Plaza were approved by the SA Development Assessment Commission,[18] with revised plans including expansions to the retail component approved in late 2020.[19]

As of October 2021, the company was developing over A$30 billion worth of projects across Australia and Malaysia.[20]

Notable projects

  • Collins Square: Australia’s largest commercial mixed-use development that was completed in 2018, occupying a full Melbourne CBD block.[21]
  • Parramatta Square: A $3.2 billion[22] project on a 3-hectare (7.4-acre) site in Parramatta, New South Wales, consisting of four commercial towers, a retail district, and public spaces.[23]
  • Riverlea Park: The largest residential development in South Australia’s history, comprising approximately 12,000 homes[24] and expected to take over two decades to complete.[25]
  • Maroochydore City Centre: Australia’s largest greenfield CBD located in Maroochydore, Queensland, estimated to take 15-20 years to complete.[26]
  • Festival Tower: A $1 billion[27] commercial and retail development and public square in the Adelaide CBD, expected to be completed in late 2023.[28]
  • Senibong Cove: A jointly-developed Malaysian masterplanned precinct[29] in close proximity to the Johor-Singapore Causeway, containing over 8,000 homes, a 100-berth marina, and a retail precinct[30] built on over 400 hectares (990 acres) of reclaimed land.[31] Senibong Cove received the South East Asia Property Awards’ ‘Best Villa/Housing Development’ award for multiple consecutive years.[32]
  • Kokomo Private Island: A six-star[33] private resort occupying an entire 57-hectare (140-acre) Fijian island,[34] comprising 21 villas and five residences.[35]
  • Citiswich Business Park: A $1 billion[36] Ipswich industrial estate covering 350 hectares (860 acres), the largest in Queensland.[37]
  • Main Drive Kew: A $400 million residential development on the former Kew Cottages site in the leafy Melbourne suburb of Kew. The project is a joint venture between Walker Corporation and the Victorian Government and has been the subject of several accolades, controversies, allegations, and legal disputes. Construction of stage 1 was completed in 2008 and was followed by several disputes between purchasers, consultants, and developers. The final stage was completed in 2014.[38]

Co-founder's death

Co-founder Lang Walker died aged 78 years on 27 January 2024.[39]

References

  1. ^ Lenaghan, Nick (9 January 2019). "Green light for last two Walker towers". Australian Financial Review.
  2. ^ "Lang Walker Receives Lifetime Achievement Award". The Urban Developer. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Building blocks of an empire". The Australian. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Walker Corp tries to build shares back to issue price". Australian Financial Review. 14 April 1997. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Seeing upside, not down". Australian Financial Review. 26 October 1999. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Lang Walker stakes out his own ground again". Australian Financial Review. 15 May 2003. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Mirvac buys Walker portfolio". Sydney Morning Herald. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  8. ^ Williams, Bethany (2 November 2011). "Collins Square is the biggest". Dockland News. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Woods Bagot-designed final tower completed at landmark $2.5B Collins Square". Architecture & Design. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Walker Group to rejuvenate Redland City". The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Media Statements. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Walker Corporation selected for Toondah and Weinam PDAs". Redlands2030. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  12. ^ Moore, Tony (4 May 2022). "Controversial Toondah Harbour project may depend on election outcome". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  13. ^ Moore, Tony (12 June 2017). "Cleveland's $1.3bn Toondah Harbour project to proceed to EIS stage". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Developer lobbied Frydenberg to de-list area of wetland for Queensland's Toondah Harbour complex". The Guardian. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Toondah Harbour development plans released". Redland City Bulletin. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Developers say $1.4 billion Toondah development safe for environment but conservation group claims it's a 'fantasy'". ABC News. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  17. ^ Khoo, Lynette (10 March 2015). "Plans for new Iskandar project unveiled". Business Times. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  18. ^ Cheng, Linda (15 November 2016). "Adelaide's second tallest tower approved". Architecture Australia. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  19. ^ Richards, Stephanie (11 November 2020). "Festival Plaza changes set for approval despite Parliament House heritage concerns". InDaily. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  20. ^ Wilmot, Ben (28 October 2021). "Lang Walker boasts $30bn workbook across Australia, Malaysia". The Australian. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  21. ^ "Collins Square is the biggest". Docklands News. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  22. ^ "Suburban offices swell as tenants rethink city towers". Sydney Morning Herald. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  23. ^ "Winding water course at heart of proposed Parramatta Square public space". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  24. ^ "Adelaide's largest masterplanned community becomes a suburb". Australian Property Journal. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  25. ^ "Walker Plots First Retail Centre at $3bn Estate". The Urban Developer. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  26. ^ Tabet, Ted (20 October 2022). "Field of Dreams: Walker Readies Australia's Next CBD". The Urban Developer. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  27. ^ "SRG wins $20m Adelaide contract". Business News. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  28. ^ Frangos, Daniela (29 November 2021). "Plans to Revamp Festival Plaza Have Been Unveiled". Broadsheet. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  29. ^ Prof. Ir. Dr. Mohd. Fadhil Bin Md. Din. "Senibong Cove, River Treatment". Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  30. ^ "Why Senibong Cove Is So Popular". Private Car Services Singapore - Malaysia. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  31. ^ "Malaysia: Johor unveils new plans for waterfront". Wild Singapore News. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  32. ^ "Senibong Cove Continues Winning Streak At Awards Ceremony". Star Property. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  33. ^ Smyth, Jamie (27 November 2015). "Fiji's political stability spurs buyers to seek piece of paradise". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  34. ^ Carruthers, Fiona (30 March 2017). "Lang Walker, Rich List property king, unveils his Kokomo Fiji resort". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  35. ^ Ashton, Chris (1 September 2022). "Island time awaits: 10 of the best South Pacific resorts - Executive Traveller". Executive Traveller. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  36. ^ Yun, Jessica (18 October 2019). "5 Brisbane property hotspots home buyers should know about". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  37. ^ McIvor, Lachlan (14 October 2021). "Huge new truck depot planned for thriving business park". The Courier-Mail. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023.
  38. ^ "Trouble in Kew". The Age. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  39. ^ Ibrahim, Tony (28 January 2024). "Billionaire property developer and businessman Lang Walker dies". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 January 2024.