City Beat June 2024: Sydney off the plan apartment development plans pile up as unit growth continues
Sydney's unit market is showing continued growth in 2024.
It was the third consecutive month that growth in the value of units, which incorporates both apartments and townhouses, outstripped growth in houses, CoreLogic’s Home Value Index found.
Units posted gains of 0.7 per cent, higher than the 0.5 per cent growth in houses.
Sydney's median unit value is now $848,000, having started 2024 at $834,000.
Sydney's overall housing market is now approaching record levels again, now matching the previous record high set in January 2022. After reaching this peak, dwelling values in Sydney dropped by 12.4 per cent, finding their lowest point a year later.
Since then, the market has experienced a 14.1 per cent rise through the current cycle. This places Sydney at the forefront of recovery among Australian capital cities.
Read more: City Beat May 2024: Sydney unit growth doubles houses in April
What happened in Sydney’s off the plan apartment market in May
While new projects launching to the market were scant, planning took centre stage in May, with a series of major development applications and approvals across some of Sydney's best postcodes.
The biggest news came from Circular Quay where JDH Capital, the developer who is redeveloping the iconic Sirius building in The Rocks, laid plans for their latest luxury project.
They've finalised their $183 million plans to demolish the Sir Stamford Hotel on Macquarie Street and replace it with a striking 15-level glass tower with commercial, retail, and luxury apartments.
BVN was given the architectural reigns after the jury at the City of Sydney Design Excellence Competition voted unanimously for their design in early 2023.
69 apartments will be spread across 10 residential levels in the new structure at 93-97 Macquarie Street.
Part of the development of the 1,612 sqm site, which sits in the Macquarie Special Character area defined in the Sydney LEP 2012, will include the restoration of the heritage-listed Health Department Building that dates back to 1896. That was designed by Government architect Walter Liberty Vernon.
Three kilometres south of Sydney's CBD in Redfern, the billionaire Neilson family is planning to revitalise an old commercial strip.
The plans submitted by Paris Neilson, the daughter of billionaire arts patron Judith Neilson and investment banker Kerr Neilson, and her developer husband Todd Buncombe will transform a row of industrial-style commercial spaces across 2-30 Vine Street and 32-34 Eveleigh Street.
They're proposing a new mixed-use building designed by Koichi Takada Architects that will home 23 apartments and 20 commercial spaces and two retail tenancies.
Read more: First look exclusive: Billionaire Neilson family to develop new Redfern mixed-use building
Heading to the east and, after four years of back and forth, Sydney’s landmark Coogee Bay Hotel is set to be redeveloped.
The iconic watering hole on the corner of Arden Street and Coogee Bay Road, fronting the beach, has been approved to have the current building refurbished, while an extension will see a shop-top housing development with 58 apartments, 11 retail premises, and an internal laneway from Coogee Bay Road.
The Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel granted a Deferred Commencement Consent, consent that will become operational once there has been a resolution of a noise management plan with Randwick City Council.
In the inner-west, prominent developer Deicorp has secured planning approval for its first-ever Rhodes apartment development, Marquet & Mary.
They've been given the go-ahead to develop the $435 million, 32-level mixed-use tower in the heart of Rhodes designed by Fender Katsilidis.
Deicorp’s Chairman, Fouad Deiri OAM, said the landmark building will bring much-needed new homes to the heart of Rhodes.
“Designed by one of Australia’s leading design practices, FK, Marquet & Mary delivers on Deicorp’s business values of strong design and high-quality amenities,” Deiri said.
Builder developer ALAND will also bring much-needed housing to Western Sydney, including potential affordable apartments for key workers.
Cumberland City Council has given ALAND approval to begin work on Amber, the second stage of The Gladstone Village, a major component of its $800 million mixed-use development in Merrylands.
Negotiations are ongoing to designate the entire 21-storey tower, consisting of 236 apartments, for affordable housing under the federal government's Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF). If successful, these units will be offered at lower rental rates for essential workers, easing the housing crisis and supporting the local economy.
While new project launches have been few and far between, there has been some activity outside of the city.
South in Wollongong, Level 33 launched one of its most boutique apartment developments to date.
The go-to developer in Wollongong has revealed Easterly, directly opposite WIN Stadium at 13 Crown Street, a short walk from the beach.
Easterly comprises 21 luxury two and three-bedroom apartments and three penthouses, all designed in collaboration with Turner Architects.
Read more: Launch Alert: Level 33 launch Wollongong apartment development, Easterly
Up north in Sydneysiders favourite beachside holiday hotspot Byron Bay, local developer JD Property Group, launched Secret Garden, their $100 million luxury shoptop development at 119-123 Jonson Street, just 750 metres from Main Beach and on the corner of Jonson and Kingsley Street.
The development will feature 22 apartments, including luxury penthouse suites, alongside 10 upscale retail and hospitality tenancies on the ground floor. The premium-grade retail space will showcase local talent, including top chefs, designers, and artisans while bringing some of Australia’s leading brands to the Byron Bay township.
JD Property Group Managing Director and third-generation local, Jason Dunn, said the precinct aims to spotlight what makes Byron Bay uniquely special.
It was Sydney's most iconic beach however that grabbed the biggest headlines in the off the plan apartment space in May.
The price per square metre rate was smashed in Bondi Beach where a penthouse atop Hall & Campbell on the dress circle Campbell Parade beachfront sold for over $100,000 per sqm.
Developed by Allen Linz's Rebel Property and Eduard Litver's Capitel Group and under construction by Trescon, the penthouse sold for $23 million, representing a price per sqm of $105,000.
The penthouse, designed by architect Scott Carver, features five bedrooms, five bathrooms, and multiple living areas and balconies with views of Bondi Beach.
