James and Claire MacGinley with their kids, Ella, 13, Millie, 11, Annie, 9, and Charlotte, 7, at Monarch Residences in Toowong, where they are moving into an apartment. Picture: Nigel Hallett.
Father-of-four James MacGinley is the first to admit swapping his five-bedroom house for a three-bedroom apartment was his wife’s idea.
They were originally planning to rent out their apartment at Monarch Residences in Toowong as an investment, but once the building began to take shape, Claire changed her mind.
“It was Claire’s idea to be honest,” Mr MacGinley said. “I was probably slightly slower on the uptake.
Construction is almost complete on Monarch Residences by Consolidated Properties. Picture: Nigel Hallett
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“It’s not just the building, it’s the whole lifestyle around it. You’ve got the river, the village, the café culture, schools nearby. It feels like a great place to raise kids.”
The MacGinleys are part of a growing cohort of young families and couples who are turning away from suburban backyards in favour of apartment living.
“When Claire and I decided to move in with the kids and started talking to our friends and other parents at school about it, it was really interesting to see the reaction from people,” Mr MacGinley said. “Rather than; ‘Really?’ the reaction was; ‘That’s such a good idea’.
Inside one of the apartments in Monarch Residences by Consolidated Properties Group.
They have bought a three-bedroom apartment with a multi-purpose room in the development being delivered by Consolidated Properties and Hutchinson Builders, which is almost completely sold out and on track for completion later this month.
As their children — Ella, 13, Millie, 11, Annabelle, nine, and Charlotte, seven — get older, the MacGinleys are also seeing more reason to move.
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“It’s going to be tight, in terms of the kids having to share rooms, but they’re at an age where they can still do that,” Mr MacGinley, who is head of residential at Consolidated Properties said.
“I actually am a gardener and I do enjoy looking after the garden, but realistically, as the kids get older, we do just find that they aren’t drawn outside as often as maybe kids used to be, so you spend a lot of time maintaining a space outside, but if noone’s using it, it becomes a bit of a thankless task.”
QLD REAL ESTATE: Promotional images for Monarch Residences in Toowong, from Hutchinson Builders and Consolidated Properties Group.
Jack Hutchinson, director of Hutchinson Builders, has also made the decision to move his family into an apartment at Monarch Residences.
“We’re not lawn people,” Mr Hutchinson said. “We’ve lived in apartments in London, Sydney and Brisbane. We want to walk to dinner, take the kids and the dog along the river, and not spend weekends mowing a yard we barely use.”
Just three of the 224 apartments remain, with direct riverfront views and priced from $3.5m to $4.5m.
Construction on Monarch Residences, which is being delivered by Hutchinson Builders and Consolidated Properties Group, is almost complete.
The largest penthouse crowning the project has been retained by Consolidated Properties chairman and CEO Don O’Rorke, while the second largest sold for just under $8m, representing about $28,000/sqm internally.
Scaffolding has come now down from the twin towers, allowing finishing touches to be made, with a mix of professionals, downsizers, and young families set to move in before Christmas.
“It’s funny,” said Mr Hutchinson. “We built it and developed it, but now we get to live in it. That’s pretty special.”
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