On behalf of The Cape team, happy new year. Here is a quick summary of progress and milestones at The Cape at Cape Paterson over the past few months.
 
Final stage construction is well underway. Following on from the rapid sell-out of the previous stage, where 65 lots sold in a few months, we have our civil contractor working away on completing the last 42 lots at The Cape, including a variety of homesites with views over waterways and new wetlands, as well as the long awaited home sites on Weathertop Crest. We call these final lots our “unicorn homesites” because they are so exceedingly rare on the Victorian coast, and they are a bit magical, with uninterrupted expansive views across Bass Strait. From Weathertop Crest you can see Cape Woolamai to the West and Wilson’s Promontory to the East.
 
Our team are in the process of constructing new areas of wetlands and waterways in the Final Stage, as well as new sections of walking and cycling paths and new parks. We expect civil works to be complete in the first half of 2022, followed by grass establishment, planting of waterways and completion of general landscape. Stay tuned for the release of our Final Stage lots in the first half of 2022 once the civil and landscape elements are complete.

The Cape was featured recently in the Australian Financial Review who shone a light on the significant annual cost savings being achieved at The Cape where homes are averaging 8 star energy efficiency (a national first), have efficient all-electric fit-out, solar power and provision for electric vehicle charging. This combination allows our residents to eliminate gas and petrol bills, and slash electricity bills which can help them save over $5000 per annum. The Cape currently has around 10% electric vehicle uptake, which is quite high compared to the rest of Australia where uptake of electric vehicles is currently closer to 1%.
 
Modelling performed by energy efficiency expert Richard Keech indicates that if all homes added an EV to their efficient gas free solar powered homes, savings across the community could exceed $1 million per annum compared to a conventional community with 6 star gas electric homes and petrol cars, as well as around 3400 tonnes of CO2 per annum. $1 million per annum savings across 230 homes is highly significant and is a good news story showing Australian households and communities can move to a net zero future quickly and save a lot of money in the process.

Cape homes stay warm in winter and cool in summer - effortless comfortable living
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​The past two years have seen a shift in the way we work and live, with the realisation that it is possible to work from home for much of the time and eliminate the time-wasting daily commute to a centralized office space. This opens up the possibility of living in beautiful places further afield than Melbourne, where people can enjoy a connected home office and flexible working conditions; and a more relaxed, healthy and lower stress lifestyle.

The Cape offers the ultimate connected seachange lifestyle​​

​The Cape is perfectly set up to support an e-change lifestyle, with high-speed internet and optic fibre to every home. Homes at The Cape average 8 stars energy efficiency, with passive solar homes that are effortlessly comfortable year round - cool in summer and warm in winter with low energy bills. This sets up comfortable working conditions for a home office.
 
In addition, when it is time to take a break from work, there is the option of a walk around our walking path network taking in wetlands, parks, restored creeklines and ocean views, a short bike ride to the beach or a visit to our community garden or children's playground.

​All homes are solar powered, have efficient all electric fitout, are gas free and have the provision for electric vehicle charging. Cape homes eliminate gas bills altogether, reduce electricity bills and open up the option for residents of eliminating petrol bills through the use of electric vehicles, reducing the costs of those trips to the city to very little. The public fast charger in our carpark also allows for a fast top up of an electric vehicle if required. The combination of the above allows for annual savings of over $5000 per annum compared to a conventional 6 star gas/electric home with petrol car which is a very significant saving for a household budget. Many of the homes at the Cape feature food growing, saving on their food bills with some productive backyard water efficient gardens being designed and constructed by The Sustainable Landscape Company. We created this video to give you a feel for life in the homes at the Cape.
 
If you are looking to escape to the ultimate e-change/seachange lifestyle, the award winning Cape estate has it all.
 
The Cape will release the 42 lots in the final stage in the first half 2022. Our sales center is closed over the Christmas/New Years break as we take a break, and reopens on Saturday 8th January at 12 noon – 4 PM. Feel free to visit our sales center between 12 noon – 4 PM Thursday to Sunday, or contact sales@liveatthecape.com.au to make an appointment

There is no better way to relax than a walk on the beach :)

It was nice to see The Cape community achieving recognition by winning the Climate Action - Industry Leadership category at the Premier’s Sustainability Awards this week, as well as Best Sustainable Landscape at the 2021 Landscaping Victoria’s Master Landscapers Awards.
These awards are recognition of the collective effort at The Cape including carbon neutral housing, restored waterways and habitats, electric vehicle infrastructure and our community farm under construction. Other finalists in these categories included Cardinia Shire Council, Rail Projects Victoria, Austeng, Beyond Zero Emissions and Ironbark Sustainability for a variety of leading projects and programs.
These awards mark a collective effort by a broad team over more than a decade, and many more who have given support and encouragement over the past 15 years journey😊😊 These include the hardworking teams at TS Constructions, The Sociable Weaver, Beaumont Building Design, Adapt Design Group, Harris Build, North South Homes, The Sustainable Landscape Company, Adam Dettrick Architects as well as a number of great initiatives by our residents.
More information on these awards can be found here.

Nature friendly landscapes are a feature across The Cape​​

​Many of the homes at The Cape feature urban farming and food production

One of our aims at The Cape is to design and establish a community in which local food growing is “designed in” to the landscape and urban form. This brings numerous benefits – better health and nutrition, incidental exercise, more social contact, reduced food bills, increased urban greening and the joy of sharing food with friends to name just a few.
 
We are very happy to announce that work is officially underway to complete our large Community Farm at The Cape. The farm is our major community project for 2021, and has been designed and is being built by The Sustainable Landscape Company in consultation with our residents.
 
The buildings within the farm are being designed by Tad Hendry and Jess Cuman from Adapt Design Group, both of whom are residents at The Cape. The pilot stage of the farm features water efficient, low maintenance wicking beds and has been operating successfully for the past four years - and is close to fully subscribed by our residents. The new large Community Farm will be built over the next 12 months, and if you're interested the detailed Community Farm briefing paper can be found here.
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​When complete, The Community Farm will include an abundance of water efficient wicking beds; a market garden; a farmhouse with kitchen, undercover area and pizza oven; a multi-use building for The Cape community; a community nursery; fruit trees; bee hives; composting areas; water recycling facilities; an area for The Cape maintenance team and plenty of room for sitting, relaxing and socialising. The garden will complement and strengthen the food growing being undertaken by an increasing number of households at The Cape.
 
The Sustainable Landscape Company has designed a number of other high profile urban farms around Victoria and Australia, such as Melbourne Skyfarm in the city, and incorporate water efficient Foodcube wicking beds into their designs which are manufactured in Melbourne and have successfully been deployed across Australia and the Pacific Islands to assist communities with food growing.

The Community Farm construction program will see the southern areas of the farm completed first and the north western section completed last. We will be sending updates on this community project as it progresses, which we know will become a great social hub for our residents and broader Cape Paterson.
 
Recently Tim Sansom from The Diggers Club visited The Cape and wrote a very informative article that captures the efforts underway to develop abundant food production at The Cape. The Diggers Club is Australia’s most remarkable gardening organisation with over 80,000 members and has been providing access to rare and unusual plants, as well as gardening education and advocacy for over 40 years. The club is owned by the non-profit Diggers Foundation – a garden charity dedicated to preserving historic gardens, heirloom seeds and our gardener’s inheritance for a sustainable future. Head to www.diggers.com.au for details.  
 
 

The construction of The Cape's huge community farm is set to commence this month after years of planning, consultation and research. Feel free to peruse the briefing paper for the farm below.

At The Cape we are building energy efficient, passive solar homes powered by solar energy. The homes are effortlessly comfortable year round, require minimal heating and cooling and have very low running costs. Here are photos of Coast, our new 8 star, efficient all electric display home with productive farm on the corner of Sunlight Boulevard and Trumpeter Street at The Cape, open to visitors every Thursday to Sunday between 12 noon and 4 pm. 
      

Cape director Brendan Condon was interviewed by Brian Nankervis and Jacinta Parsons on ABC Radio today. Brendan spoke about Renew's Sustainable House Day and the benefits of passive solar design. 

Have you always wanted to visit us at The Cape, but you live too far away? Now is your chance-- Sustainable House Day is going virtual! 
This event is put on by Renew each year, to celebrate and share information about sustainable homes across Australia. Whether new build, or retrofitted, you can see a plethora of amazing homes from all over the country. As one of Australia's most sustainable housing developments, we have a stacked array of homes for you to explore.

We will also be participating in some of the live-stream panel discussions that will be going on throughout the day, Sunday September 20.

10:00-10:55 AM Designing, building and living in a Cape home

• Designer: Adam Dettrick, Adam Dettrick Architects
• Builder: Tony O'Connell, TS Construction
• Resident: Michelle Isles, Weelam-ik

1:15-1:55 PM Creating a sustainable development, community, or village

• Cape Director Brendan Condon 
• The Paddock Ecovillage
• Ginninderry
• Narara Ecovillage

​Check out the full day's program and register here 

Sustainable House Day 2019 was such a fun event! Check out some of the action in our wrap-up video from the day. Over 2000 guests attended 12 open homes at The Cape, and we featured a lineup of inspiring sustainability innovators giving talks throughout the day, as well as a marketplace of local sustainable wares.

Liveability is a term we have all heard before, but what does it mean? Well, it means different things to different people, but at its core it includes a desire to work and play in close proximity to where you live.
We are seeing strong interest at The Cape from people looking to escape the city to a place where they can enjoy walking and cycling, coastlines and nature, and to live in a beautiful, comfortable, sustainable home. We now have only 10 home sites left for sale in stages 2 and 3, with stage 1 completely sold out. Here are five reasons why people are moving away from the city in droves for a better life in regional Victoria:

We're hearing from more and more people considering an e-change, that is, moving away from cities to regional centres to enjoy a better quality of life. More Melbournians are working remotely and recognizing the lifestyle benefits that can come with it. 

With vast amounts of open space, stunning beaches on its doorstep and NBN connection to every home, The Cape is experiencing one of its busiest sales periods with Stage 1 completely sold out, only one lot left in Stage 2 and Stage 3 approaching 70% sold. At this rate there will be very few lots left in Stage 3 during the busy summer period!  

Nestled in the centre of The Cape sustainable housing estate in Cape Paterson, and featuring large swathes of parklands with beautiful ocean views, Stage 3 has it all. Home sites in this stage are a short walk to either of The Cape’s beaches and an even shorter walk along beautifully landscaped granitic sand paths to the community gardens, expansive children’s adventure playground, wetlands, parklands, off-leash dog park, nature walks and an amazing 50% open space.

A diverse range of home sites feature stunning ocean views over beautiful Bass Strait, as well as parklands, walking paths and wetlands. Allotments range in size from 405 m2 townhouse lots to over 1000 m2, so there is something for everyone. Stage 3 adjoins a new chain of parks and wetlands currently being completed by the landscape team.

The relaxed coastal lifestyle of The Cape with our ocean view home sites this close to Melbourne are increasingly rare these days. At the Cape, the beautiful Bunurong Coastal Drive is 5 minutes away and the towns of Inverloch and Wonthaggi, which feature all the necessary shops, infrastructure and services, are only 10 minutes away.

The Cape’s design process will guarantee you a beautiful, passive solar home with year round comfort and super low running costs. You may also be eligible for the Federal Governement's Homebuilder grant of $25,000.

All homes are connected to NBN with high speed fibre optic direct to the home, and the coastal landscape entices as healthy, active lifestyle.  Don’t miss your chance to join Victoria’s most sustainable community.​

The Cape Sales Office, located at 4 Periwinkle Place, Cape Paterson is open on Thursdays to Sundays 12 noon to 4pm.  
The Cape team are observing all COVID-19 health and safety restrictions so please email: sales@liveatthecape.com.au  or call (03)7022 9790 to make an appointment. We look forward to showing you through all The Cape has to offer.