A national development company has been appointed to build a major development in Renmark that promises to help address current housing supply constraints and boost economic and tourism growth.

Wel.Co has been selected to build the Jane Eliza Development after an eight-month search by the local council for a project it claims will transform the region.

The development will be the largest in the history of the Riverland, with an economic value of more than $400m, according to Renmark Paringa Council.

The original Jane Eliza River Estate waterway and residential area along the banks of the River Murray and the Ral Ral creek in North Renmark was conceived by father and son developers Ian and Hauge Showell in 1986.

The further development of the estate will allow for a 20-25 per cent increase in the area’s population once completed and at full capacity.

The vision for the Jane Eliza Development project is to provide Renmark with long-term sustainable population, tourism and economic growth through a high-quality master-planned community.

Wel.Co founder and managing director Andrew Welsh said it will be close to 800 residential lots, a marina precinct with up to 100 houseboats, a commercial precinct and some terrace housing options around the marina.

“We’re still walking through the masterplan design with the council,” he said.

“We’ll probably take three to six months to bed that down and from there we’ll be moving into the planning process.”

Welsh said greater Renmark has limited options for new housing.

“For the ongoing demand that is going to be coming to the area from a jobs perspective, but also moving to the area for the lifestyle on the back end of COVID,” he said.

Renmark Paringa Council CEO Tony Siviour said Wel.Co was the most suitable choice because they had done other regional developments in places such as Gawler.

“From our point of view, Wel.Co understood the vision of the project the best out of all groups,” he said.

“Being able to see they’ve made a huge difference and are currently making a huge difference in other regional areas was appealing.”Bottom of Form

Siviour said the project will be a boost for the region and promote their river lifestyle.

“We have massive issues with land supply and rental supply, so this project will drive economic development, growth in our community and business opportunity,” he said.

“We’re looking forward to getting Wel.Co down at the site and introducing them to the community.”

Welsh said Wel.Co is eager to search for more projects in South Australia.

“We have a number of master planning communities across Australia,” he said.

“In South Australia, we have a 2,000-lot project in Gawler East called Springwood, we’ve probably still got 1200 lots to go there.”

Words: Brad Noske
Image: The mixed-use marina precinct will have both commercial and recreational uses.