Article featured in the Herald Sun, Saturday 6th June, 2020

When completed, Merrifield — a masterplanned community in Melbourne’s northern growth corridor — will be five times bigger than Melbourne’s CBD and home to about 25,000 people.

It will also be a magnet for job opportunities, with an extensive business park expected to generate more than 30,000 jobs.

Merrifield Business Park will be Victoria’s largest masterplanned business and employment precinct and has already attracted internationally renowned companies, such as Dulux, which has invested $165 million in a state-of-the-art water-based-paint manufacturing facility.

Merrifield developers MAB Corporation and Gibson Property Corporation expect the 900ha Mickleham development, about a 40km drive from the CBD, to become the epicentre of Melbourne’s north.

The potential of the new community to be a place where people can live, work and play has already been discovered by the more than 4000 residents who already call Merrifield home.

“Merrifield is a 24-hour city. It’s unique in Melbourne’s growth areas to find a new community where you can comfortably live and be only a few minutes’ drive from work, schools, shops and recreation,” MAB general manager communities Matthew Planner said. “It will be a central destination for shopping, entertainment, employment and lifestyle, as Merrifield enables all that to happen in one place. Residents can enjoy two parks, with another on the way this year, and there will be sports grounds opening in 2021.

“Merrifield is also home to a number of schools — a government primary school is opening in 2021, followed by a community centre opening next year, too.

“Merrifield residents already enjoy a strong and well-established community development program. “Furthermore, stage one of Merrifield City, the modern city centre, opens this year and includes Coles and a range of retail offerings. Everything needed for a thriving community is already here or on its way.”

Merrifield offers quality, affordable living and the developers are receiving strong interest from young families who want to live in a major lifestyle destination with plenty of amenities on their doorstep.

To give homebuyers a helping hand, until the end of June, Merrifield is offering a “double your deposit” promotion. In a nutshell, the unique initiative allows customers to increase the amount they deposit when purchasing eligible titled lots, and receive the same contribution back from the developer.

Land can be secured with a minimum $10,000 deposit, with the ability for customers to continue to save and add more to that deposit over time — up to 10 per cent of the purchase price.

To incentivise and reward diligent savers, Merrifield will match the full amount contributed to the deposit as a rebate at settlement. Eligible lots range in size from 350sq m to more than 600sq m and the promotion is available until June 30, 2020.

“The benefit of our “double your deposit” promotion is that we’re allowing customers to keep adding to their deposit amount prior to settlement — the more they deposit, the more they save,” Mr Planner said. “We really want to reward buyers who save hard — particularly at the moment. We are very conscious of how tough it is right now for people who want to build their family home. “There are many challenges for buyers looking to commence their home-buying journey. We want to make that journey a little easier and help our buyers achieve their homeownership goals.”

Mr Planner said it was a great time to be buying and building in Merrifield. “There is already a real sense of community about the place and so many exciting facilities being delivered, which means those buying now will not have to wait to have important everyday services at their doorstep”.

Merrifield resident Saud agreed the community was an ideal choice for young people and families in search of the good life. “I work in superannuation, which is all about making your future secure by making the right decisions,” he said. “We had multiple options to purchase but went for Merrifield purely because the future looks promising here for a young family like ours. “We always wanted more than just a house, so key factors were a shopping centre, schools, business centre and sports facilities.

“We’ve been living in Merrifield for about 18 months. I still believe it was one of the best decisions in my life.”

For more information, see www.doubleyourdeposit.com.au

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