Honeycombes Property Group takes community-first approach at Songbird Terraces in Oxley

It has been well over two decades since Oxley Secondary College, south west of the Brisbane CBD, closed its doors. The vast block of land sat perfectly between Oxley Station and Canossa Private Hospital, which made it ripe for a new residential-led masterplan.

Just over four years ago, Honeycombes Property Group Founder Peter Honeycombe expressed his interest in a 9,644 sqm section of the broader Songbird Oxley masterplan, where a new townhouse neighbourhood would take shape.

Having spent the last three decades in development, working on major suburb-shaping projects like Ferny Gr​ove Central and Coor​paroo Square, Honeycombe knew his first step.

“While it’s not a requirement, we always hold public forums before we even lodge our development applications,” Honeycombe says. “We want to know what type of housing resonates the most with the local community, because ultimately they are the most likely to call it home.”

At Oxley, Honeycombes held four forums, which he attended personally to speak to the community. For Ferny Gr​ove Central, he held nine.

“It’s about creating something that belongs to the community. The site was ripe for regeneration, and the feedback we ascertained from the community was that they wanted amenities that could bring people together again.”

Significant amenity is already established in the wider masterplan, like a childcare centre and a cafe, which are ideally located directly across from the Songbird Terraces development.

The feedback also signalled a preference for townhouses over apartments. A townhouse product would lend itself to young families who could utilise the nearby childcare centre, downsizers, and multi-generation families.

There are just 34 three and four-bedroom townhouses that make up Songbird Terraces, each with private courtyards, two car spaces, and access to shared outdoor spaces that include a heated swimming pool with an adjoining alfresco terrace.

Honeycombe sees townhouses as an under-appreciated asset class, offering a middle ground between apartments and detached houses.

“Some people want the low maintenance and shared amenities of apartments. Others want the size of a house but without the upkeep of a large backyard. Townhouse communities like Songbird bridge that gap,” he said.

Songbird Terraces’ position within the larger Songbird Oxley masterplan reinforces its family and lifestyle focus. With a childcare centre opposite, a nursing home next door, and parks on two sides, the neighbourhood is positioned as a multigenerational community hub.

Honeycombes, working with builder Clearcon, expects the retail component of the masterplan to be roofed by mid-next year, with the residential component nearing topping out around the same time.

For Honeycombe, new development is very much a journey, and a two-way street between developer and the local community.

“I think it can be difficult for prospective home buyers to trust developers a lot of the time, but the vast majority spend years on a development. We’ve spent four years getting to this stage of launching the project, and it will be another two years building it. Ferny Gr​ove took 12 years and Coorp​aroo took 11. These projects aren’t quick in-and-out ventures. We’re in it for the long haul, and that’s why the community has to be at the centre of it.”