Property Development Advisory Panel assists Council

Tuesday, 7 July 2015

Penrith Council has formed a Property Development Advisory Panel to give direction and advice on Council’s property portfolio to capitalise on future opportunities across the city.

Mayor Ross Fowler OAM said the establishment of a Property Development Advisory Panel is part of a new Property Strategy, calling on high-level external property expertise to advise Council's future direction.

"The calibre of the recommended panel members is outstanding and will bring a depth of experience and insight to Council's future property transactions that will benefit the City," said Mayor Fowler.

"The Panel's extensive property expertise, with a mix of residential and commercial property experience and town planning knowledge, will be a powerful tool for Council to achieve its property objectives."

The panel's initial focus will be on the Penrith City Centre, assisting Council with the implementation of the Penrith Progression, and specifically the development of Council property, including joint ventures in the Penrith City Centre.

The four external individuals appointed to the panel are Sean O'Toole, Peter Dransfield, John Elvy and Michael Scott.

Photo caption: Back (L-R) Deputy Mayor Clr Greg Davies, Michael Scott, John Elvy and Penrith Clr Mark Davies  Front (L-R) Penrith Mayor Ross Fowler OAM and Sean O'Toole (Peter Dransfield is absent from photo)

Property Development Advisory Panel members

Sean O'Toole

Mr O'Toole was Managing Director of Landcom from 2002 - 2013. Over the last ten years Landcom has diversified from a developer of home sites on Sydney's fringe into:

• Urban renewal projects (Prince Henry at Little Bay and Victoria Park at Zetland)
• Town Centres (Rouse Hill and Oran Park)
• Transit oriented developments (Green Square Town Centre, Macarthur Regional Centre and Thornton Park at Penrith)

Prior to joining Landcom, Sean held senior positions in urban planning at both State and Local Government levels, including Assistant Director General of the NSW Department of Planning.

Sean is a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia and he holds several Board positions including a member of the Central Coast Regional Development Corporation Board.

Peter Dransfield

Peter Dransfield is well known in the property industry, having held senior executive positions at Australand and as a Director of Walker Corporation. He was a Director of the Multiplex Group of companies and a former Director of Housing for the NSW Government.

Peter is currently Chairman of Devine Limited - a listed developer of Land, Housing and Apartments operating in Qld, Vic and SA and a Director of Bremer Park Limited.

Peter is an advisor to Pepper Property (formerly Grant Samuel Property), Director of Macquarie Real Estate Equity Funds and Chairman of two Urban Growth joint ventures at Bringelly and Green Square.

John Elvy

John Elvy has been in the real estate and development profession for 44 years. During that time, John's focus has been in property investment strategies, project development, growing real estate businesses and building international property networks.

John was a Senior Executive/Director with Colliers International, Knight Frank and the NSW Managing Director of LJ Hooker International.

From 2001 to 2004, John was a non-executive director of James Fielding Group, an Australian public company that specialised in property funds management.

John was Chairman of Leighton Properties for 4 years, retiring in 2012 as a Non-Executive Director after 13 years on the board. He retired in June 2008 as the Executive General Manager Development for Leighton Holdings, responsible for sourcing commercial projects in Malaysia, China, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Middle East.

John was a Councillor, serving 3 years on the City of Sydney Council, and 17 years on Strathfield Municipal Council, including Mayor for 3 terms and Chairman of Finance, Building and Planning and committees.

He is Vice President of the Property Council Australia, NSW, and a member of the NSW Division Council. John also chairs the Local Government Taskforce, focusing on making local government more effective and efficient, as well as lobbying to remove rate pegging in NSW. He advises local government including Parramatta City Council on the development of value adding strategies to optimise the performance of their property holdings.

Michael Scott

Michael has 30 years' experience in real estate, property development and the construction industry with Private Sector Builders/ Developers, Government Land and Housing Agencies. Michael's experience includes the planning, design, rezoning, approval, construction, marketing and sale of many successful and award winning residential developments.

Over the past 15 years (1999 - 2014) as Managing Director of The Treadstone Company Pty Ltd. Michael has provided specialist management services and advice in the areas of property development and housing to clients including Landcom, Urban Growth NSW, Stockland, Lend Lease, Urban Pacific Limited (Macquarie Bank) and many other government and private clients.

Michael provides advice and management in a number of different yet related areas including: - Development Management, Project Delivery, Residential Construction, Builder Team Management, Government - Private Sector Joint Venture Management, Marketing of Major New Communities, Delivery of Affordable Housing and Sustainable Urban Development Initiatives.

Information contained within this news release was correct as at Tuesday, 7 July 2015.