Annandale BtR on Show After Hospital Plan Shelved

A 22-storey build-to-rent project in Sydney’s Inner West has gone on display after the development team led by Cosgrove Group and Mathieson Property dumped a private hospital scheme approved for the site.

But the $121.8-million residential building will retain connections to health—the new proposal suggests that the 281 apartments that include a 15 per cent affordable component would provide housing for workers in education, life sciences and healthcare.

The 2570sq m site at 122-130 Pyrmont Bridge Road and 206 Parramatta Road, Annandale, is 3.5km from the CBD and within walking distance of Sydney University and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. 

According to the current proposal, market research found that nearby commercial developments under way would absorb demand for life sciences tenants, but key worker housing in the area was lacking.

Instead of pursuing an approved plan for the Camperdown Modern Private Hospital, the new plan calls for 19,319sq m of gross floor area, including 656sq m of ground-floor retail space. Carparking would be limited to 44 spaces in a single basement level.

In the absence of a local masterplan, the design by SJB Architects would respond to the transitional character of the neighbourhood (including repurposed industrial warehouses) as well as several HDA proposals in the vicinity, the application said.

The site was rezoned from industrial to allow healthcare use—the developer is now seeking a rezoning to allow residential development.

Thanks to its industrial past, the surrounding area has provided large sites for alternative uses. The 3500sq m Camperdown Fitness gym at 63-65 Pyrmont Bridge Road was formerly a bulky goods warehouse. 

▲ The neighbourhood has historically been warehouses and warehouse conversions, but highrise housing proposals are under way.

The 2000sq m Sydney Pole, at 103 Pyrmont Bridge Road, claims to be the world’s largest pole dancing academy by floor area. The nearby Nomad bouldering gym at 7/12 Chester Street claims to be the biggest in the southern hemisphere by climbable wall area.

But the hipster hangout is increasingly subject to residential densification. The 1940sq m Malt Shovel brewpub at 99-101 Pyrmont Bridge Road, opposite the Cosgrove/Mathieson project, was closed in 2024 by Lion and is undergoing a rezoning from industrial to business development uses, while the Wayward brewery at 8 Gehrig Lane shut in August 2025 and is currently marketed for lease.

Meanwhile, the Landcom-led Joinery project at 160-186 Parramatta Road and 79-95 Pyrmont Bridge will yield 220 build-to-rent apartments, devoted entirely to affordable housing for key workers.

The $236-million, 21-storey building was approved in December 2025 at a former dive site for the WestConnex project. A final yield of 580 homes is projected, with the potential for further affordable component in future stages.

Cosgrove Group is driven by Banjo Bond, grandson of Alan Bond, and has been busy as a property investor and manager. Cosgrove Group is active across different asset classes and markets, including a $56-million acquisition of a Newcastle large-format retail asset in October 2024. 

Mathieson Property has been equally active with projects, including a $86.9-million, eight-storey residential building of 70 apartments at Rose Bay now under way.