Citify's Wilkinson runs $250m Buckingham Arms job, Adelaide

Wilkinson said owning the whole development cycle brings rewards and benefits, including risk mitigation: a firm that designs a building and then has to build it is thinking about how to deliver what the architect has drawn at the same time.

The Urban Developer says the journey has been uphill and needed a big investment in education.

He told the podcast the courses paid for themselves, because a single mistake avoided could otherwise be repeated 50 times.

Citify’s pipeline, per the article, ranges from townhouses at Torrensville to Buckingham Arms. Wilkinson said the firm had to upskill its team to deliver the larger job. Buckingham Arms in Medindie was among the new additions on Rider Levett Bucknall’s Adelaide crane count, as covered in our Adelaide crane count story.

The numbers

The Urban Developer puts Buckingham Arms at $250 million in value. Wilkinson said the build cost alone is $135 million, and that 20 employees are working specifically on that project.

Wilkinson also gave his view of the local market, which the outlet describes as counter-cyclical and still strong despite a housing price downturn. He said Adelaide has not historically trended downwards, and has moved sideways and gradually up over the last five years. “Adelaide’s got a bright future ahead,” he said. He pointed to a number of big infrastructure projects under way that provide jobs, and to vertical growth opportunities in the CBD.

What’s next

The article does not set out a delivery schedule for Buckingham Arms. Wilkinson said the CBD offers vertical growth opportunities that Citify is focusing on as a developer-builder.

The full conversation is available on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube, according to The Urban Developer.