Grand Lakes Estate in Lara was once nothing more than 18 hectares of low-lying flood prone land.
Today, more than 12 years after construction started, Bisinella Developments’ national-award winning residential estate has been transformed into a vibrant community.
Now home to more than 2000 residents, when it was constructed Grand Lakes Estate was a landmark development for Lara and Geelong in engineering and environmental terms.
The leading-edge techniques used to resolve the engineering and environmental challenges involved in developing Grand Lakes demonstrated that it was possible to facilitate orderly residential development of land previously considered to be flood prone.
The prestigious estate was built around an expanse of stunning lakes, wetlands and parkland, laced by a network of boardwalks and walking and cycling trails.
The lakes, wetlands and parkland take up about 20 per cent of the total land area. A total of 1205 trees, 147,000 groundcover plants, 268,000 wetland plants and nearly 60,000 square metres of lawn were planted.
Grand Lakes Estate also includes a community centre, an early education centre, a state-of-the-art community playground, a barbecue area and the popular Millars Cafe.
Bisinella invested more than $12 million, or approximately $15,000 per lot, in the parklands, features and other public infrastructure in the estate.
On 16 July 2020, it will be 11 years since Grand Lakes Estate was completed.
As we celebrate this milestone, Bisinella is preparing for the construction of an exciting new residential estate - Lara Lakes Estate - in the area known as the Lara West Growth Development Precinct.
Made up of approximately 532-lots, the new estate will be of similar design to Grand Lakes Estate. Land in Lara Lakes Estate is due to be released in late 2020.
This month, Bisinella has released a commemorative video which showcases the history of Grand Lakes Estate and its significance to the local community.
At the time of construction, Grand Lakes Estate was the largest estate to ever be built in Lara. The estate was designed to embrace the rural atmosphere of Lara while providing its residents with easy access to transport links, shopping centres, schools, recreation facilities and community services. It also provides splendid views of the You Yangs.
“Our vision for Grand Lakes Estate was not only to create a high-quality residential community but also to contribute significantly to the lifestyle and wellbeing of Lara,” Bisinella Director Richard Bisinella said.
“As we look ahead to the opening of Lara Lakes Estate, the commemorative video is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the past 12 years and the development of this wonderful estate. It’s a chance to pay tribute to all of the Geelong-based consultants and contractors who helped transform Grand Lakes Estate into the lively community it is today.”
Local companies involved in the estate included planning and engineering consultants TGM Group, drainage consultants BMT WBM, geotech consultants Cardno Lane Piper, landscape architects Mexted Rimmer, landscaping contractors Ausscapes, and civil contractors Wellam Constructions.
A showcase for environmental design, in 2015, Grand Lakes Estate took top honours at the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s annual Victorian awards for excellence. Grand Lakes Estate was judged the best residential estate and also won the award for environmental excellence.
In March the following year, Grand Lakes Estate beat some of the biggest development companies in Australia to receive the urban development industry’s national award for environmental excellence.
The national award was the first win by a local Geelong developer in the 20-year history of the awards.
To find out more about the history of the national-award winning Grand Lakes Estate visit https://www.bisinella.com.au/grand-lakes For details about Lara Lakes Estate email us at sales@bisinella.com.au
Or please visit our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyGV6TdItDo&t=3s