Tell us about Dynamic Property Group.
Founded in 2016 by Sonya Miller and Olivia Christie, Dynamic Property Group is a privately-owned Melbourne-based property development business born out of a joint passion for creating and shaping the built environment. We’re passionate about people focussed development and want to create projects that will establish a legacy with successful social, environmental, community and economic outcomes.
Our first project, the $25 million Elwood Park, is a collection of 14 boutique luxury apartments in Elwood, overlooking Elsternwick Park and the lake and just minutes from local shops and the beach. We were really excited to collaborate with a fantastic design team on this project, DKO Architecture and interior designers Mim Design, creating a building that will fit within Elwood’s existing architectural character and appeal to the local owner-occupier market.
What inspired you to start Dynamic Property Group?
We crossed paths in 2008 when we worked together in the Victorian development team at FKP Property Group on projects including Aerial apartments (Camberwell) and TAC head office (Geelong). Whilst working together we realised we had a shared approach to development and were both primarily people focused, considering each space and how people will live, work and use the spaces. We both knew we wanted to work for ourselves one day, pooling our experience and relationships within the property and construction industries and when Sonya was offered the opportunity to take over management of the $40 million Wyndham Harbour marina project in its entirety, we came together and set up Armitage Jones, a project management business. Armitage Jones has been in operation since 2014 and the team continues to grow but we wanted the chance to develop our own projects from start to finish and Dynamic Property Group was born.
Tell us about your career and background.
Sonya
I’ve always had a passion for the property industry which saw me complete a Bachelor of Architecture (Hons) and a Bachelor of Property and Construction at university. From there I went on to work across both private and public companies of varying sizes in roles such as Manager Commercial Development at FKP Limited, Development Manager at ISPT and Assistant Project Manager at Multiplex.
Prior to Dynamic Property Group, I was working as a Development Director at Lyons Capital where I oversaw the delivery of residential projects in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. This included Wyndham Harbour, the $400 million mixed-use master planned development in Werrribee South, which spurred the creation of our other business Armitage Jones, and from there Dynamic Property Group.
Olivia
Like Sonya, I have always had a keen interest in the property industry, in particular construction. I studied a Bachelor of Applied Science (Construction Management) and a Master of Business (Property) and went on to work in both private and public development companies over an 18-year period. My previous roles have included Project General Manager at Grocon, Senior Development Manager at Charter Hall, Development Management roles at Ubertas Group and Brookfield Multiplex, Senior Development Manager at VicUrban, as well as project and site engineer roles at Baulderstone and Cockram Construction.
I specialised in developing and implement strategies to unlock the potential of sites gave me an ideal grounding to start Armitage Jones and then Dynamic Property Group.
Describe a typical work day for you.
We don’t really have a “typical” day as what we love is that the work is so varied and we meet and negotiate with such a wide variety of people – from Council planners, contractors, purchasers and financiers.
We do spend a lot of time in meetings discussing strategies, alternatives and problem solving. Our work has a high level of stakeholder engagement and it’s the people that we love, which is why we are so passionate about considering what people need in their day to day lives and making sure we incorporate that into all our projects.
What advice do you have for those wanting to start a business?
Work out exactly what it is you want to achieve and set out a clear plan to achieve it. We find that once we work out a clear goal and plan, the realisation of the goal becomes so much easier.
Also make sure you’re passionate about what you’re working on – no matter what role you’re doing or who you’re meeting with, there is always an element of “selling” what you do so make sure you believe in it and are passionate and sincere about the outcomes.
What’s next for you, and Dynamic Property Group?
Our priority is to create interesting projects that steer clear of the cookie cutter approach and deliver high quality projects with a considered design approach. We’re actively looking for residential sites in Prahran, Malvern and Bayside areas which are popular with the owner-occupier market. We’re also keen to draw on our experience by embarking on boutique office developments with a retail component in similar areas.
We’re both also really interested to explore the wellness side to residential developments. Currently there is no WELL Certification for residential projects, as we’ve seen in the commercial projects we’ve worked on. We think it will become more and more important for the residential sector, especially for the owner-occupier market, and people will pay more for a product that has access to fresh air and daylight as well as spaces for working out and healthy menu cafes within the building. We want to make sure the priority is to enhance everyone’s experience within that space.
