INTRAPAC – CELEBRATES 30 YEARS IN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT
Max Shifman is a man on a mission – he is driven to succeed. And that sings true in his current role as Senior Development Manager at Intrapac Projects – one of Australia’s most successful privately owned property developers, which this year celebrates 30 years in business.
With property is in his blood, it was only natural for Max to follow in his family’s footsteps. He attributes his ‘go getter’ attitude to his parents, who started a successful property development business from scratch after immigrating to Australia from Russia in the late 1970s.
“My passion for property started at a young age. I have my parents to thank for that by instilling me with the values I live by today. My dad was a qualified electrical engineer in Russia, but as his credentials weren’t acknowledged in Australia, he took up tiling, then building and went on to property development. I remember carry bricks, digging holes and generally helping out on his sites as a teenager, so I am not afraid of hard work,” said Max.
Today Max is focused on some of the country’s most lucrative property development deals, negotiating multimillion dollar acquisitions across Australia. His portfolio also includes overseeing Intrapac’s portfolio, like the highly acclaimed Somerfield development in Keysborough and a number of others in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Some may call him a young gun, but Max puts his success down to innovation, perseverance and passion. “I love what I do. It gets me out of bed every morning. Being surrounded by some of the best minds in the industry, which are knowledgeable and driven, reinforces my desire to succeed,” he said.
Max believes the key fundamentals to creating a winning housing development lies in embracing location, community, design and infrastructure so residents feel part of the community. Investing in areas that have established transport links and local amenities are key.
“At Intrapac we are all about creating inspiring places where people want to live. There is a real sense of satisfaction in creating something real and tangible, which is so important to residents because it’s a place
they can call home. We offer a range of housing options to suit everyone’s needs from medium density to traditional housing, appealing to first-time homebuyers, upgraders and investors,” said Max.
He admits one of the toughest challenges in the property development industry today is a culture of ‘NIMBYism,’ (Not In My Back Yard) in certain areas, which can sometimes hold many existing neighbourhoods back from having a truly liveable, vibrant community.
“I think there’s a misconception that development destroys neighbourhood character when, if done right, it can really enhance amenity and connectivity. Australian capital cities are also some of the least dense in the world, which makes the cost of providing infrastructure for new residents at the fringes extremely high,” he said.
At the tender ago of 30 years Max’s achievements were recently acknowledged at the 2013 Urban Development Institute of Australia (Victoria) UDIA’s Award for Excellence, where he won the Young Professional Award for his outstanding achievement and commitment to the property industry.
In addition to his role at Intrapac, Max also works as a Senior Analyst as Dascor where he undertakes due diligence for new investment opportunities. He also sits on the UDIA’s Outlook Committee, a forum promoting representation and exposure for younger people in property, and he is involved in a number of other networking endeavours. Max’s academic qualifications include a double degree in Civil Engineering and Law at Monash University. He has also completed a professional property development course with the UDIA in 2010.
For more information, or to arrange an interview please contact: Zoyee Kartalis Public
Relations Manager for Intrapac 0409 301 975, e:zkartalis@intrapac.com.au
About Intrapac Projects:
Intrapac Projects is a privately owned property development company whose primary focus is creating residential land subdivisions, built-form projects and other mixed-use developments. Founder David Payes, also President of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (Victoria), established the business in 1984. Intrapac has a proven-rack-record in delivering high quality housing developments, and has won multiple industry awards over the past 30 years. Considered to be one of Australia’s most successful private land developers, Intrapac is also 30% owned by the Smorgan Family’s Escor Group and has backing from a suite of high-net worth investment groups.