YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE LIVING UNDER A ROCK IF YOU HAVEN’T HEARD OF JEFF MCCLOY AND HIS FAMILY BUSINESS, THE MCCLOY GROUP. AND WHILST CONTROVERSY HAS FOLLOWED HIM THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, HIS PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY, GENEROSITY AND PASSIONATE DESIRE TO CREATE STRONG COMMUNITIES BENEFITS MANY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AND IS SOMETHING HE CAN JUSTIFIABLY BE PROUD OF.

Life for Jeff McCloy began in a very humble way in a tiny cottage in Belmont. He still remembers using newspaper in the outside lavatory and the horse leading the bread van for bread deliveries. There was always food on the table, though, and young Jeff grew up wanting to be a dentist, which he laughs about now. His grandfather and father were both builders who rode the waves of boom and bust as they tried to provide for their families. When Jeff was still in primary school, his father experienced a significant downturn in his fortunes, and Jeff believes that this experience helped shape his life.

“When your dad goes broke, and you’re just a little kid, it shapes who you become. You never want to go through that if you can help it. And you certainly don’t want your family to go through it,” says Jeff.

There’s a sense that the elder McCloy, Jeff’s father Don, was keen to have Jeff join the family business right from the start, but the young man needed to go off and be his own person. His first year at the University of Newcastle was spent playing rugby and snooker. He did not apply himself to his studies in Civil Engineering until after he’d had “the talk” with his parents, after which he returned to university, put his head down and finished his degree successfully. There followed a series of jobs in Sydney, which he loved, including stints at Lend Lease and the Public Works Department and working on the MLC Centre. During this time, he developed his craft and his business acumen. His father, however, still had ideas for Jeff to join him, and in the late ’70s, Jeff promised to give it a go for 12 months.

This move proved to be highly successful and certainly went way beyond 12 months. They won the tender to build the John Hunter Hospital, and to this day, it is still one of the things that Jeff is most proud of.

“Business-wise, the John Hunter Hospital construction was an amazing achievement,” said Jeff. “We came in one year ahead of schedule, and I’m still proud of it.”

The younger McCloy set about ensuring that the family business would never go broke. For a short while, the business moved into the Sydney market but sustained losses. This led to a return to the Hunter region and a pivot away from construction to property development and diversification. The Jewells Tavern and shopping centre was their first commercial development, followed quickly by the Belmont North subdivision. The future of the McCloy Group was set.

Today, the business has three main areas of focus. There are over 25 residential communities under the McCloy name, six employment centres and four retirement living complexes. Jeff’s core philosophy of living life well, being connected to community and giving back to society is at the heart of each of these areas of focus.

The residential communities are branded Masterplanned for Living and reflect Jeff’s passion for creating communities that people love to live in, with uncompromising quality and environments that feature public art, landscaped parklands, playgrounds and open spaces.

The employment centres are branded Designed for Productivity and are all about maximising functionality and location, for efficiency in output so that people can work well in spaces that complement their lives and provide balance.

The retirement living complexes are branded Created for Lifestyle and are part of a new joint venture titled Principle Living to develop state-of-the-art retirement living facilities that offer the best lifestyle offerings for the later stages of life.

The need to enrich other people’s lives is at the heart of the business and is what drives Jeff.

“It’s exciting to be partly responsible for enriching other people’s lives through the development of the communities that we build,” said Jeff.

“I get a great sense of satisfaction and pride knowing that I’ve left something better than it was before. We use public art in our communities to create a sense of belonging. As people drive through the entry of their community, which always feature an identifying sculptural art form, they get a real sense of coming home. The higher quality and standards of our communities raise the tempo of behaviour and has a calming effect on those that live there.”

In fact, art is a particular passion for Jeff and every community he builds benefits from this passion. He has no artistic talent himself and isn’t sure where his appreciation for it has come from.

“Art adds a lot of value to our communities. It’s something for everyone to enjoy. I’m in awe of artists and what they do and enjoy fostering art in our community by purchasing it and sharing it”

Whether it’s the public art, the landscaped parklands or the nature reserves that attract the buyers, the rate of sales for McCloy Group residential communities is very high, with people sometimes even camping out to purchase when land is released. Families return to McCloy Group estates too. Children who’ve grown up there are returning once they’re ready to purchase their own home in a generational connection to place. Resale value is also high. Communities are built along sustainable environmental principles and are mostly owner-occupied, with homeowners expressing confidence in the projects and the capital growth they provide. A home in Maitland’s Heritage Parc was recently resold for a record $1.2million, proving the investment potential of a McCloy Group residential community development.

Commercial developments have included well-known icons like The Lucky Hotel in Newcastle and the Mattara Hotel in Charlestown. Employment Centres include The Dairy Farmer’s Corner, the award-winning City Exchange as well as the Telstra Civic Building and the recent acquisition of the old Hydro Aluminum smelter at Kurri Kurri.

The industry has recognised the McCloy Group excellence, with many awards being won over the years. This year the McCloy Group has communities listed as finalists in the 2021 Urban Taskforce Awards and also has entries in the 2021 UDIA (Urban Development Institute of Australia) Development Excellence Awards.

Personally, Jeff has been recognised by his peers and his community through several awards over the years and is known as an outspoken advocate for bringing development and prosperity to the City of Newcastle. He has been the Hunter Business Person of the Year, awarded the University of Newcastle Alumni Award for Leadership, he’s been Chair of the University of Newcastle Foundation and awarded the City of Newcastle Medal.

The McCloy philosophy of enriching the lives of others is not only at the heart of the business but is also what has driven the development of the McCloy Family Foundation, which recently donated $1million to the Mark Hughes Foundation. It’s a natural extension of the work that Jeff has done over the years, supporting a vast number of causes and charities because he believes profoundly that it is essential to give back to the community that supports his business and his family. He’s contributed to medical research, education, welfare groups and sporting teams and clubs.

“Philanthropy is in my DNA,” said Jeff. “I’d like the Foundation to continue long after I’m gone. It’s a wonderful thing for the family to work on together, for everyone to be part of the decision-making process. We get so many requests, setting up the Foundation was a way to formalise the process and enable direct action for the causes that we believe in.”

The McCloy Family Foundation has been established to create better outcomes for the region, reflecting the family’s innovative approach to communities and creating places and opportunities for all to live better lives. The Foundation aims to give around $1 million a year to a number of different causes, charities and people spanning a number of fields, including health.

When asked what he’s most proud of from a business point of view, Jeff talks about the John Hunter Hospital and the superyacht Seafaris that was burnt out in 2013.

“Seafaris was a 41m superyacht that we had built. It was an incredible boat. It won the award for the Best Super Yacht in the World in 2007. It was heartbreaking when it was destroyed by fire, but you can’t get too wrapped up in the material things. At least no one was hurt,” said Jeff philosophically.

The other business achievement that Jeff is keen to highlight is the team around him at the McCloy Group. With a low turnover of staff, high goals and high standards, he is clearly proud of his team, almost in awe of their abilities and accomplishments.

“I can’t believe there are only 22 people on the team. What they can achieve together is astounding. They have a formidable skill set, and it’s fulfilling to work with such a great team of people.”

Moving forward, Jeff is considering his legacy. Now in his early 70s, he’s looking to slow down and make some changes. With children from 2 marriages, Jeff talks about family life as being “complicated”. None of his children have followed him into the business, which is probably one of the reasons the McCloy Family Foundation was set up. It’s a way for them to work together and build on their family’s legacy.

“The kids are doing great, but they’re all on their own journeys with some running their own businesses and I respect that.”

Jeff seems comfortable with this. It’s reminiscent of his own history, with his father keen for him to follow in his footsteps and whilst Jeff did, it seems that he won’t be putting the same pressure on his own children. He respects the life decisions they make and is satisfied with the concept of selling the business rather than it staying in the family. If the time came to sell the McCloy Group he has just one proviso – the need for his team to stay together.

In the meantime, the McCloy Group are still thriving, delivering new residential communities, employment centres and retirement living complexes across the region and into Queensland. The community building will go on, and lives will continue to be lived well in beautiful spaces. The Foundation will be there to support the causes that improve the lives of the many, build community and lift up those that need it.

It’s hard to imagine someone who has built such a successful and profitable business going quietly into retirement. Jeff is keen to reduce his day-to-day workload but then talks about looking forward to building some shopping centres, investing his funds and doing “interesting” things.

INTOUCH MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2021
LIANE MORRIS
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