As seen in TheAustralian.com.au, 16th October, 2024.
By Joseph Lam
Property developer Coronation aims to become one of the country’s largest developers of rental homes, revealing plans for two new major mixed-use precincts in inner Sydney comprising 750 build-to-rent apartments with a combined end value of $1.45bn.
It has acquired parcels of land in the Sydney inner city suburb of Waterloo and St Leonards in the city’s north.
The St Leonards site, at 46-52 Nicholson Street, is well placed to capitalise on Sydney’s new Metro line, with the site just a four-minute walk from the Crows Nest station.
Coronation has planned a mixed-use precinct with ground-floor retail, community spaces and 350 built-to-rent apartments.
The total development, which was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2028, would have an end value of $600m, Coronation managing director Joe Nahas said.
“We’re excited to be unlocking this gateway site’s valuable development potential which incorporates a vibrant mixed-use space, within a walk of the new Crows Nest Metro, the St Leonards transport hub, Gore Hill Oval and the array of local cafes and restaurants,” he said.
About 15 per cent of the development is likely to be designated affordable housing.
“This means that eligible low to medium-income health and allied care staff at RNS and The Mater Hospitals, as well as other essential workers, will have the chance to finally secure new, affordable rental properties – and be able to live close to where they work without having to commute long distances,” Mr Nahas said.
The billionaire Kahlbetzer family’s Twynam Group is selling the St Leonards site. It had previously planned to lodge a development application combining commercial office space and build-to-rent apartments. Market players said the long-held site had traded for more than $78m.
The second site, at 207 Young Street, Waterloo, will have a significantly larger development with 2500sq m of retail space, parks, pedestrian areas and 400 build-to-rent apartments.
It is being sold by private companies associated with Dr Jeffery Eisman and Cheryl Saluck.
Former Mirvac executive Dennis Broit advised the vendors.
The Waterloo development is about 1.2km from the new Waterloo Metro Station.
The Waterloo development, about 4km from the Sydney CBD, has an end value of $850m and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2028.
Mr Nahas said it was no easy feat securing land so close to the Sydney CBD.
“We’re excited that we’ve acquired one of the few remaining residential development opportunities in the thriving Waterloo urban renewal precinct. It’s a prime location for new housing, given its connectivity to transport networks, amenities, major hospitals and universities and the emerging tech and innovation employment hub around Botany Road,” he said.
“These two acquisitions demonstrate Coronation’s commitment to securing growth opportunities in well-serviced, well-connected urban areas of Sydney, so we can continue to build highly-amenitised new communities.”
Coronation Property has a $5.7bn pipeline of build-to-rent and build-to-sell apartments and expects to operate a portfolio of 3500 BTR apartments by 2028.
Other build-to-rent projects include Mason & Main in Sydney’s Merrylands, which comprises 434 build-to-rent apartments and 415 build-to-sell apartments; Charlie Parker in Parramatta, which comprises 123 build-to-rent apartments; a $2bn project in Erskineville comprising 1100 build-to-rent apartments; and Precinct 75 in St Peters, with 200 build-to-rent apartments.
Coronation also has a 55-storey 314-apartment and 240-room hotel complex at 8 Phillip St in Parramatta; a 136-home complex including penthouses, apartments and terraces in Ashbury; a Chatswood development comprising 150 apartments; and the country’s largest urban renewal project in Liverpool comprising 11,000 new homes.