Dan Wells, Project Manager at RCL Group, the developer behind Hanley’s Farm and the upcoming Homestead Bay, sat down with us recently to answer a few questions. Get to know Dan better below.
What is your role at RCL?
I’m the Project Manager for Hanley’s Farm and Homestead Bay
What does the average day as a Project Manager look like?
I’m out on site some days, as well as being in the office. I meet with the planners, designers and engineers to keep the project running smoothly. When we’re at Hanley’s Farm doing site visits, I make sure to grab a coffee from The Farmhouse Cafe, which RCL Group were pleased to open late last year.
What is your favourite/ most rewarding thing about work for RCL and Hanley’s Farm?
I’ve most enjoyed providing the parks and the trail network for the community at Hanley’s Farm. It’s been incredibly rewarding to see local families building their homes and moving into the development.
What do you think makes Hanley’s Farm so special?
The natural setting and the landscape. You never really get tired of the scenery, it’s pretty spectacular. Hanley’s Farm is also unique because despite all its natural beauty, we haven’t made it exclusive. We’ve kept Hanley’s Farm accessible to the community, providing an opportunity for everyone to live in such a stunning area.
Could you share a bit about the vision behind Hanley’s Farm and what sets it apart from other developments in the region?
We designed Hanley’s Farm, and created building design guidelines, with a mind to fitting in with the local character and landscape, while also being reasonably affordable to build. We have also invested a large amount into the parks, landscaping and trails and continue to maintain them. Something that I think sets the development apart from those that came before it was that we made a real effort to avoid it simply becoming a place where people speculate on empty sections. There are timeframes people are required to build by, which we continue to monitor, and people need to build before they on sell their sections, if this is what they choose to do. We think this helps the subdivision move beyond the “unfinished” feel earlier than would otherwise be the case and it helps to build a community.
What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced while working on Hanley’s Farm, and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge we’ve faced is trying to build subdivisions fast enough. It takes a long time to get the design complete and to get the necessary approvals. There are lots of people eager to get building their house and others who are disappointed when we have a sales release and they miss out.
How does RCL Group ensure sustainability and environmental responsibility in its projects, particularly with Hanley’s Farm?
With our subdivision layouts we think about how to create future communities with lower transport emissions. This includes layouts that line up with growing public transport routes and encouraging walking and cycling with tracks and shared paths. In our housing and community projects, we are interested in innovative renewable energy deployment. For example, we invested in a ground source heat pump scheme in community houses we built last year and we have included solar panels in the community garden, in addition to a community composter.
What kind of feedback have you received from residents of Hanley’s Farm, and how does that feedback shape future developments?
In some ways, the strongest feedback indicator we get is the ongoing demand for new property at Hanley’s Farm. We also take on board suggestions from the community about what they would like to see happen, which is what has led to many of our community investments, including sports facility investments at the school, the Farmhouse Café and the community garden.
What measures do you take to ensure that Hanley’s Farm provides a high quality of life for its residents?
The big thing is creating public places that people enjoy, which means we invest a lot in establishing and maintaining landscaping in streets and parks. The parks are obviously something we have invested a lot in, including trails, playgrounds, public toilets and fitness equipment. We hope that investments in these facilities, as well as the community garden and Farmhouse Café will help to create focal points for the community to meet and socialise. Another matter we can influence is in creating land sections that we know builders can produce good houses on, and we communicate with builders on those matters.
Finally, what does the future of Hanley’s Farm look like? Are there any exciting developments you are able to share with us?
The big future of Hanley’s Farm is Homestead Bay, our future development just down the road. We’re in the final stages of Hanley’s Farm now, which will see some additional parks and green spaces opening soon, as well as an expansion of the trail network, in addition to more housing.