42VP Master Plan

The Strata Committee (SC) is developing a Master Plan to help navigate the numerous considerations required to restore appearance, amenity, value and harmony at 42 Victoria Parade. This master plan would be both the process by which considerations are undertaken and project strategies are prepared, as well as the resulting coordinated proposals for repairs, maintenance, improvements and community engagement. The intent for the Master Plan is to be a guide for:

• the SC to prioritise, plan and execute repairs and improvements;
• the Owners Corporation (OC) to consider expenditure plans;
• ensuring statutory and code compliance;
• aesthetic consistency of progressive elements of improvements over time;
• coordinating varied considerations (e.g. aesthetics, repairs, hazard and compliance) for prudent and efficient execution; and
• improving communications among the wider community involved at 42 Victoria Parade.

There are a number of significant challenges to establishing a pathway to achieve the intents of the Master Plan including:

• Deleterious effects of protracted construction of a new building at the neighbouring property at 46 Victoria Parade.
• Dilapidation of a range of structural elements and services.
• An unaddressed three year old fire safety audit report with extensive compliance flags.
• An ill-considered and obsolete ‘Sinking Fund Analysis Report’ (2016).
• Non-compliant materials/design in various areas due to repair contractors providing low cost, non-compliant work.
• Wide ranging colours and textures throughout the premises that have no coherent aesthetic.
• An imbalance of individual owner involvement in general meetings.
• Ineffective communication methods to support broader owner involvement.
• Social restrictions due to COVID-19 which prohibits face-to-face general meetings. 

The SC has a range of activities directed at addressing the above challenges, and to establish a framework for a Master Plan including:

• Established a working dialogue with the neighboring developer and owner to coordinate make-good of construction effects to 42 Victoria Parade assets.
• Evaluated dilapidated elements and services with various experts to inform planning of coordinated works.
• Investigating the significance of findings in the fire safety audit report, and referring to relevant findings when considering repairs or improvements.
• Preparing layman interpretation of fire safety audit report for discussion with the OC to allow decision on preferred strategy to address the findings in the report.
• Deferring a renewed 10-Year Capital Works Plan until the OC resolves the strategy to address fire safety audit report findings as the costs to address fire safety findings could dominate expenditure for many years.
• Investigate relevant code and statutory requirements before engaging contractors, and seeking confirmation from contractors of compliant work.
• Establishing a colour/textures palette, and overall aesthetic vision for common assets that remains coherent over time.
• Seeking involvement by more owners to express their wishes for repair, maintenance, and improvements to common assets.
• ​Developing a new communication platform to encourage broader participation, and to support decisions during this period of social restriction.

Complex decisions can be simplified by breaking down the repair, maintenance and improvement issues into finite elements for refined consideration of the various components of the issues. This Master Plan is structured around the following elements:

Each of these elements should be considered for any repair or improvement undertaken at 42 Victoria Parade, and in some instances should be considered for non-routine maintenance. Consideration effort would vary for different undertakings and for individual efforts. However, it is important to ensure that due consideration of each element is applied in the planning and execution of each undertaking.
Aesthetic Vision
The SC has engaged Divine Designs to support SC efforts of the aesthetic vision including:
Colour Palette
Texture Scheme
Structural Variation

• Glass balustrades (complete)
• Lift car upgrade (complete)
• External lights phase(s) 2/3
• Unit 2 & 3 balustrades/fencing
• Garden beds
• Entrance walkway wall
• Letterboxes
• Stairway handrails

Fire Audit Considerations
The SC is preparing the simplified version of the Fire Safety Audit Report to help inform ongoing proposal decisions and expenditure planning.
10-Year Capital Works Plan
The SC will complete the planning of capital expenditure based on a well-informed OC that provides meaningful guidance to the SC. This would be a final step of crafting the Master Plan, and should be regularly updated and used to propose the annual capital works levy.

​The strata committee is looking forward to the relaxation of social restrictions to allow the opportunity to discuss these considerations with all OC members.