La Casa Espanola I to II: what changed in phase two
Phase one sold out fast. Speed of sale tells a buyer nothing. Handover dates and the list of things we changed tell them something.
Phase one of La Casa Espanola sold out in four months. That sentence appears in our marketing and it should carry very little weight with you.
Speed of sale measures demand and pricing. It says nothing about whether the buildings were delivered on time, whether they work, or whether the people who bought would do it again. The numbers that answer those questions are the handover dates and the defect log, and those are the ones we lead with now.
What phase one delivered
Promised handover [date]. Actual handover [date]. Units [n]. Named owners willing to speak to a buyer: [n]. Documents published: [n] of [n]. All of it sits on the project page, and every document opens.
What we changed for phase two
Drainage and the ground. Phase one taught us where water actually goes on that slope during a serious wet season, which is not where the drawings assumed. Phase two was set out with the falls redone and the structure lifted clear of the ground.
Waterproofing specification. Moved from a surface system to an integral admixture, at roughly 20 per cent on the concrete cost. The reasoning is in the waterproofing note.
Service access. Phase one put pool plant and pump runs where they looked tidiest. Phase two puts them where a maintenance crew can reach them without lifting a floor, which is less elegant on a plan and much better at year four.
Kitchen and storage. From the phase one defect log and from what owners said after a year of actually living in the units: more bench, more usable storage, and a pantry that fits an appliance.
Handover pack. Phase one buyers received the documents in stages. Phase two buyers receive the complete folder on the day, in the order listed in handover day.
What did not change
The architectural language, the room proportions, and the finish level. Those worked, and buyers said so.
Why publish a change list at all
Because a change list is an admission that the first version was not perfect, and that is the point. A developer on its fifth project with nothing to correct has either learned nothing or is not telling you. The useful question to ask any developer is not “have you built before” but “what did you change, and why”.
Sources, and how to check them
- La Casa Espanola I: handover promised [date], actual [date]
- Change list from phase one review, [date]
- Both phases in the project register with permits and certificates
Anything in [brackets] is a fact we have not yet published a document for. If a figure here is wrong, tell us and we will correct it and date the correction.
