Plain Sailing – Taskers Living in Luxury Lifestyle Magazine

Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, November 2016 Community Newspaper Group

Wander the surrounds of the Taskers enclave and you’ll notice one thing in particular – the serenity and remarkably fresh spirit that is synonymous with the lifestyle on offer at this distinctive development in the heart of North Fremantle. Located at 9 McCabe Street, it is at the top end of the peninsula, just on the southern border with Mosman Park, putting it in an unrivalled spot to take advantage of views of the Swan River and the Indian Ocean.

Leighton Beach is practically on the doorstep, as is the amenity along the river, including picturesque Garungup Park and Milo Beach. Local eateries including Propeller, Habitue, Mrs Browns and The Black Truffle are a foodie’s heaven, with many other bars, cafes and pubs all close by. But what truly sets Taskers apart is its multi-phase development, comprising ﬁve stages including four apartment buildings and a selection of private residences called The Villas.

January 2014 saw its ﬁrst apartment complex, Falcon, start construction and, at present, Stage 3’s The Villas are due for completion next month and the ﬁve-storey Tekona building is ahead of schedule with completion anticipated in July 2017. “Tekona is already 75 per cent sold out and, interestingly, it’s 100 per cent owner-occupiers, which continues the trend we have here at Taskers being a lifestyle choice for the most part for locals downsizing,” Gary Dempsey Developments managing director Gary Dempsey said. “Purchasers are from the local Mosman Park, Cottesloe and North Fremantle area and the riverside suburbs from East Fremantle through to Applecross.

“As sales have continued at a steady pace at Taskers, contrary to the Perth apartment market in general, we will bring forward the last stage being Siskas, which is the jewel in the crown at Taskers where nearly all the apartments have sweeping ocean and river views.” The development this year was recognised for its high-quality build, winning the coveted Apartment of the Year gong at the 2016 Master Builders Bankwest Excellence in Construction Awards, which also means the project will go on to represent WA at this Thursday’s Master Builder’s National Awards in Canberra.

“Everyone here at Dempsey Construction and Taskers, including the residents of the building, were thrilled with winning the best-built apartment in WA,” Mr Dempsey said. “The award is testimony to the commitment of the entire construction team’s eﬀ orts and its very satisfying that recognition is given for the extra lengths we go to ensure that our buildings are the best built.”

The award is a massive nod for the development, which has been a labour of love for more than a decade. With legendary Australian yachtsman, Olympic medallist and sailmaker Rolly Tasker the original owner of some of the lots that make up the present site, Mr Dempsey and Mr Tasker ﬁrst formed a joint venture in 2005 to develop the property. The following year, the joint venture was extended with AFG Property to include the balance of the land to the east to increase the overall development potential to the prime location. From there, it took years of planning and approvals, including some disheartening knock-backs from the local council. Mr Dempsey responded by appealing to the State Administrative Tribunal, which ruled in his favour. “Fremantle council did everything they could to stiﬂe the development as, at the time, they considered anything over two storeys as high-rise, as ridiculous as that sounds now,” Mr Dempsey said. “Things have changed a lot since and the City is more supportive of apartment development” Mr Dempsey said ultimately, the tribunal ruling allowed for the distinctive Taskers master plan we see today.

“Acquiring the extra land enabled us to create an internal parkland of more than 3000sqm, which the development is built around,” he said. “Unfortunately, Rolly died of skin cancer four years ago and, as a tribute to Rolly, we named the site Taskers. “All the buildings at Taskers have also been named after yachts Rolly raced in and his yacht Siska was what he was best known for; as such, the last and most prestigious stage will be called Siskas.” Clearly, Taskers has become much more than just another project for the experienced builder and developer.

“It was important to oﬀer a variety of housing options to suit varying needs of residents, from individual villas to apartments with their own backyard, and as our market is the owner-occupier and not investor, quality is of foremost concern to these people, who want to downsize but not downgrade,” Mr Dempsey said. “It is extremely difficult to ﬁnd an apartment building in Perth that actually delivers on that front, which I think is the fundamental reason for the success of Taskers. “With me being the builder as well as the developer, prospective purchasers can and do ask me anything about the build and get a direct answer – that’s extremely unusual; most developers are removed from the build process.”

Taskers has a laundry list of luxury inclusions in each home it oﬀers, and sets the benchmark in many aspects. It is the ﬁrst smoke-free apartment development in WA – which means no inhaling second-hand cigarette smoke while enjoying those views – has electric car chargers in all basement parking, and large banks of photovoltaic systems on each individual building, which are capable of delivering cost-neutral common power costs to residents. “Buyers can also expect low strata fees, delivered by way of higher capital expenditure in the construction phase, which reduces maintenance costs moving forward,” Mr Dempsey said. “They will also have impressive ﬁrst-rate facilities including communal gardens incorporating fruit trees and herb gardens, a 25m solar-heated lap pool, commercial-sized gym, and comfort in the knowledge that they are buying into the best quality-built apartments in Perth with a future-proofed design.”

The development is also home to Cafe Isthmus, located on the ground ﬂoor of the Falcon building, which oﬀers freshly brewed coﬀees and serves breakfast and lunch. Every home in Taskers also has a kitchen built by expert craftsman with induction cooktops, a microwave oven and fully integrated dishwasher as standard, with the choice between Gaggenau and Miele appliances. In the bathrooms, buyers can expect full-height tiling, stone ﬂooring, stone bench tops and a frameless glass shower screen, while the laundry comes with a Miele front-loading washing machine and matching condenser dryer.

All fully-insulated ceilings are 2.7m and feature shadow-line detailing, complemented by full-height double-glazed windows and sliding doors. Enormous balconies are another standard at Taskers, all with frameless glass balustrade, large-format travertine tiling, power and water outlets, and remotely located air-conditioning compressors to maximise the space.

Taskers also employs a three-layered wall system to achieve higher-than-recommended acoustic ratings and enhance security between apartments. “The big advantage for prospective purchasers has been that they have been able to see ﬁ rst-hand for themselves our ﬁnished product; it speaks for itself,” Mr Dempsey said. “It reaffirms everything our sales team have said about our quality exceeding that of other apartment buildings.”

With a display home that will be opened early next year, The Villas is something Mr Dempsey is looking forward to seeing come to fruition. Designed by Craig Steere Architects and set on its own survey strata lot, each elevated residence will have breathtaking views out to the northwest and across Taskers’ gardens. Each villa also oﬀers up to 415sq m of internal living space and between three and ﬁve bedrooms, a three-car garage, a guest suite or theatre room, and a state-of-the-art Schindler elevator.

“The Villas is an exciting part of the project because it’s unique in the fact it’s part of the greater Taskers development and has access to the communal facilities yet they are three-storey private homes each with their own garage and lift,” Mr Dempsey said. “The architecture is modern with copper and silver features cladding on the outside, which is a point of interest.”

For more information, visit www.taskersliving.com or contact Stephen Vitale on 0416 095 906.

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Article published in the November 2016 Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, written by Arylene Westlake-Jennings
Community Newspaper Group.

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