Central Element Breaks Ground on $150m Luxury Bondi Scheme

Central Element has broken ground on its $150-million seven-home project that will boast direct access to the Bondi to Coogee walk. The Urban Developer understands that a range of $20 million to $30 million is expected for the five apartments and two townhouses in the project dubbed Pearl at 20-22 Sandridge Street and 21 Wilga Street. Central Element design and construction head Adrian Banks told The Urban Developer that the build phase would provide “complexities” on a sloped and sandy 2050sq m site. “Trying to maximise the built form in its future state, to capitalise on the view, was the trick,” Banks said. Apartments towards the bottom of the slope are “almost ocean front with unimpeded views”. “And then [positioning] the two townhouses at the back made more sense, because the site’s got a little bit wider aperture there.” ▲ A court-approved design will provide views, while protecting those of neighbours. Two buildings on the site were demolished, and perimeter piling placed to allow excavation. A hydrostatic slab will resist the water table. Overland flow during the construction phase will be managed by an on-site detention tank, which will be a permanent feature of the finished structure. “The biggest challenge is the fall in slope. So we have this 10m drop between the two basements,” Banks said. “From a materials handling point of view, it’s more difficult to get plant, equipment, and labour down the bottom. “It’s got to be pretty intricately manageable … once we get the structure up, the concrete frame, it’ll be a lot more accessible. But the challenge right now is getting everything that we need down to the lowest point.” Neighbours not a problem for Pearl A court-approved design by MHNDU will prioritise views for residents at Pearl, without interrupting the views of existing buildings on the street. According to Banks, the concrete spalling on a neighbouring building at 24 Sandridge does not present a danger to the construction site, and construction will not impact that structure. ▲ Concrete spalling on a neighbouring building will not affect construction, nor be worsened by it, Banks said. McGrath agent Ben Fraser is marketing a newly renovated apartment in that building with a guide of $1.25 million, which last changed hands in January, 2025 for $945,000. He told The Urban Developer that price range was typical for apartments of that category in the area. “I did rental open homes on this building close to nine years ago, and it was in a state of disrepair,” Fraser said. “There’s quite a bit of work to be done to the building, but it’s getting to a point where the strata is proactive about it.” MA Financial loves the location MA Financial investment director Heath Grundy told The Urban Developer that his team became involved to fund the construction stage. “This is the first project we’ve done with Central Element. Obviously, we like the location on this premium spot. It’s a cracking site,” Grundy said. ▲ The site slopes down from Sandridge Street to the Bondi-to-Coogee pedestrian walk. “It’s a challenging site, obviously. Bondi is a pretty tight squeeze. But they’ve got through pretty unscathed so far, which is fantastic.” Grundy said that MA Financial is careful but active in assessing its pipeline of existing and potential future projects. “It’s very deal-specific. There’s a lot of moving parts to it. Obviously, there’s the pre-sale pieces, how that looks. How the market is moving. ▲ Just seven luxury homes will rise at the site, four of which will have private swimming pools. While MA Financial is currently limiting redemptions, the asset manager is particularly active in retail asset deals , and Grundy said there was no indication of a halt to development finance. “We want to protect our investors, make sure we’re doing the right thing. There’s a lot of unknowns in the market moving ahead, so we want to make sure we’re positioning ourselves,” Grundy said. “We’ve got existing deals on, so it’s all a balancing act … there’s always deal flow. It’s just picking the right ones and the quality of that deal flow.”

Apartments
Patrick Lau
Fri 28 Aug 26

Central Element Breaks Ground on $150m Luxury Bondi Scheme

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