STAGE 03: REDEVELOPMENT PLANNING, FEASIBILITY STUDY & 79A PROCESS

1. Establishing the Property & Existing Position

Before redevelopment potential can be assessed properly, the Society needs a reasonably clear understanding of the property and the existing development.

Depending on the Society's circumstances, this may include:

• land and property position;

• conveyance / deemed conveyance status, where relevant;

• leasehold conditions, where applicable;

• existing building information;

• sanctioned plans and available approvals;

• actual plot area and relevant physical characteristics;

• known reservations, restrictions or development constraints; and

• gaps in important property or approval documents.

These are not merely documentation matters.

The underlying property position can directly affect what can realistically be planned on the site.

For example, development potential cannot be considered in isolation from land ownership or lease conditions, the applicable planning authority and the physical characteristics and constraints of the plot.

The 30 September 2026 Government Order specifically places the initial professional assessment around the building and land, conveyance information, development potential and the applicable authority/regulatory framework.

2. Understanding the Society's Development Potential

A Society should not assume that plot area × permissible FSI = final redevelopment potential.

Development potential may depend on several interconnected factors, including:

• applicable development regulations;

• permissible FSI;

• TDR, where applicable;

• land ownership and lease conditions;

• planning authority requirements;

• existing development;

• road and access conditions;

• open-space requirements;

• parking requirements;

• building configuration;

• site-specific planning restrictions; and

• other physical or regulatory constraints.

The 30 September 2026 Government Order requires the Architect / PMC to examine applicable FSI/TDR and development potential with regard to prevailing government policy, land ownership and the rules of the relevant authority.

Therefore, the Society should ask not only: “How much FSI is available?” but also: “What can realistically be planned and approved on this particular property?”

3. Feasibility Study & Project Report

The feasibility/project report should help the Society move from possibility to project understanding.

The exact contents will vary according to the property and redevelopment model. However, the professional assessment may address:

• existing site and building position;

• assessed development potential;

• possible redevelopment configurations;

• residential and commercial components, where relevant;

• requirements of existing members;

• carpet-area implications;

• parking;

• open spaces and amenities;

• construction specifications;

• site and planning constraints;

• alternative development scenarios, where relevant; and

• broad project viability.

A feasibility report should answer practical questions. It should help the Society understand:

What exists?
What is permissible?
What is technically realistic?
What options are available?
What constraints exist?
What assumptions have been made?

It should not create an artificial certainty where important matters remain subject to further professional assessment or statutory approval.

4. From Technical Assessment to Society Decision

A professional report is not, by itself, a Society decision.

The Architect / PMC provides the technical assessment within its professional scope. The Society must understand what that assessment means and decide what it wishes to take forward.

Before proceeding, the Committee and members should be able to identify:

• whether the proposed framework is realistic;

• which assumptions support the assessment;

• whether member expectations are technically supported;

• what constraints have been identified;

• what alternatives have been considered;

• what remains uncertain;

• whether additional specialist advice is required; and

• which matters should form part of the next stage.

This is where technical information becomes a governance decision.

The objective is not simply to approve a presentation. It is to ensure that the decision is based on an understandable and sufficiently defined project framework.

The 30 September 2026 Government Order specifically refers to preparation of a realistic project report considering matters including residential/commercial area, open space, garden, parking and construction specifications, along with comparative assessment of applicable redevelopment schemes where relevant.

5. Member Discussion & Applicable 79A Process

The redevelopment process also requires the Society to convert its technical understanding into the appropriate member decision-making process.

The applicable 30 September 2026 Government Order provides the framework for member participation in redevelopment, including consideration of member suggestions, recommendations and objections, recording views in the minutes, and written consent of members who voted in favour of the redevelopment resolution for further redevelopment proceedings.

The detailed SGM procedure and preliminary redevelopment decision process belong to the earlier stage of the redevelopment journey. They should therefore not be unnecessarily repeated here.

The important point at Stage 03 is:

The Society's technical understanding needs to be converted into a properly documented member decision under the applicable redevelopment procedure.

Members should know what is being placed before them, what is being decided now and what will remain to be determined at later stages.

6. What Should Members Understand Before Approving the Project Framework?

Before an important decision is taken, members should be able to understand the essential features of the proposal.

At a minimum, the discussion should make clear:

• What is the existing property position?

• What development potential has been assessed?

• What assumptions support that assessment?

• What redevelopment options have been examined?

• What is realistically proposed for existing members?

• What are the principal technical or planning constraints?

• Which matters remain subject to further approval or professional confirmation?

• What exactly is the Society being asked to approve at this stage?

This is particularly important where preliminary area calculations, planning assumptions or proposed configurations may later change as the project progresses through detailed design and statutory approvals.

7. Questions the Society Should Ask

The right questions at this stage can expose weaknesses in a feasibility assessment before they become problems during tendering.

Property & Development Potential

1. What development potential has actually been established for our property?

2. Which regulations and planning parameters have been applied?

3. How have land ownership or lease conditions affected the assessment?

4. Are there any site-specific restrictions or constraints affecting development?

Feasibility

5. Which assumptions are critical to the feasibility?

6. Have alternative redevelopment scenarios been examined?

7. What are the principal technical, planning or site constraints?

8. How have parking, open spaces and other planning requirements been considered?

9. Which aspects of the assessment remain uncertain or require further confirmation?

Proposed Project

10. Does the proposed framework realistically accommodate the existing members?

11. What elements are preliminary and what elements are sufficiently established for the next stage?

Member Implications & Process

12. What information should members understand before taking the decision?

13. What exactly is the Society being asked to approve at this stage?

14. Which decisions should be left for the tendering or documentation stage?

8. Commonly Missed Issues

Treating theoretical FSI as guaranteed development

Development potential has to be considered together with applicable regulations, land status, planning requirements and site conditions.

Accepting one scenario without understanding its assumptions

The Society should know what assumptions support the proposed project.

Confusing feasibility with approval

A feasibility assessment is a professional assessment. It does not itself constitute statutory approval.

Turning preliminary numbers into promises

Preliminary area calculations or financial assumptions should not automatically become contractual commitments.

Ignoring documentation gaps

Unresolved property or approval-document issues can affect later planning and approvals.

Moving to tender with an unclear project brief

The tender should be based on a sufficiently defined project framework rather than unresolved fundamental assumptions.

Member approval without adequate understanding

A technically complex proposal must be explained in a manner that ordinary members can understand and evaluate.