Villawood marks three decades of innovation and community

Industry-leading Villawood Properties has marked 30 years as one of the country’s most innovative and award-winning developers.

Driven by a powerful community ethos, Villawood has a raft of awards to its credit, including a UDIA best masterplanned title for its striking Armstrong Mount Duneed project.

Villawood is behind Geelong’s prestigious Wandana project, presently unfolding along the Geelong Ring Road above Highton, as well as the new Coridale community about to start at Lara.

It has built 50 projects across regional Victoria, Melbourne, New South Wales and Queensland, many of them greenfield and focussing sharply on community facilities and events to welcome buyers.

Other Villawood communities in the Geelong region include Armstrong’s Sanctuary, Leopold’s Estuary, Barwon Heads’ 18th Fairway and Drysdale’s Seaviews.

Known as the developer with a difference, Villawood originated in Bendigo as a small syndicate of like minded investors before branching out to Melbourne and further afield.

Founding partner and executive director Rory Costelloe moved to Geelong with his family in 2003 and set about establishing local links and community connections.

Today, Villawood is a key market player in Geelong and a strong supporter of the Geelong Football Club, the Grovedale Football Netball Club, Torquay Surf Life Saving Club, Rotary, Lara Swimming Club and many smaller community groups.

The company provides $20,000 price cuts and sets aside 20 per cent of its new releases for community care workers such as nurses, police, firefighters, paramedics, teachers and carers.

Villawood also provides extensive parks and adventure playgrounds, residents clubs with pools, gyms, courts, parent rooms, function spaces and cafes, as well as events and more for new communities to come together.

“When Villawood starts a new community, we like to support the community groups around us, lots of little small groups,” Mr Costelloe said.

“We put out for expressions of interest and support a range of groups whether it’s smaller sporting clubs, charity groups, lifesaving clubs or disability groups.

“There’s a whole range of charities that we support, and I think it’s really important to interact and engage with those people and make them part of our community.”

Villawood has produced a bright 168- page coffee table book, entitled 30, to mark its three decades by celebrating the people making up its many and varied communities.

“When we first got together, we never imagined we’d ever expand to Melbourne or Geelong, let alone across Australia,” Mr Costelloe said.

“Our shareholder base across the business is more than 350 people and it’s the united power of numbers which has enabled us to compete with the bigger developers.”