Industry Insights
“DOWN THE TRACK” ON MAXCAP, RACING AND PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESS WITH BRAE SOKOLSKI.
BY SANDRA LOGIUDICE
Brae Sokolski is a man of substance. Ambitious but humble. Smart but unassuming. A man who places good relationships, contributing a legacy to society and ‘doing the right thing’ at the forefront of his business decisions. It was therefore no surprise to uncover the many layers of his success in this interview, and that which sits beneath his title of ‘Executive Director and Co-founder of MaxCap’. Here we chat to Brae about his insightful predictions from 18 months ago, how everything has panned out and his views on what’s ahead.
Your last interview with Rob Langton was mid- pandemic in December 2020, and you accurately predicted the Melbourne and Sydney housing markets would bounce back by mid 2021. During this period, purchase and planning for The Queensbridge Building development commenced, a $400m mixed-use tower of apartments and hotel rooms. What gave you such great confidence in these markets? What ultimately gave me the confidence to keep moving on projects is the fact that humans are incredibly resilient, and although there is a certain amount of optimism you could argue with that mentality, history tells you that invariably with every crisis there is a recovery. In saying this, I didn’t expect the recovery to be as rapid as it has been. But you would have to have a very dystopian view of the world ahead to think that tourism and travel isn’t going to return, migration isn’t going to return and that we’re all going to be in a state of lockdown for the rest of eternity with no market adjustments.
With the Queensbridge Development in Southbank Melbourne, we just forged ahead in confidence that the crisis would eventually resolve and we move on. The site was purchased in October 2020 mid-pandemic by our long standing and trusted partners Time & Place and Hickory which gave us full confidence to back this project. The development comprises 367 residential apartments and 200 hotel rooms and will be of world class standard including a wellness retreat, outdoor cabanas, open and private pool, yoga studio and more. It will also have co-working spaces, a cafe, private dining room, and a dog spa and is expected to be complete by early 2025. The building itself will re-define the Melbourne skyline so I am incredibly excited to be a part of another major project with Time&Place and Hickory that adds such character and value to the city of Melbourne. Forging ahead and ’starting’ is something you encourage developers to do, especially in residential so as not to affect supply down the track. How are you seeing that pan out?
12 – July / August 2022
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