Aqualand Reveals Plans for Build-to-Rent Debut

Prolific NSW-based Aqualand has started planning its first build-to-rent project.

The developer is planning the build-to-rent for its site at 146 Arthur Street in North Sydney.

Planned is a 40-storey tower to replace an existing office building. The new tower would comprise 300 apartments plus a ground floor retail and commercial precinct.

The site is 400m from North Sydney Station and 250m from the planned Victoria Cross Metro Station.

Amenities would include a sky deck lounge area, bar, pool, gym, workspaces and communal dining room. 

Aqualand said it had seen how popular the model was overseas and wanted to replicate that for the different age demographics looking for housing in Sydney. 

“Given the model’s popularity overseas, we’re keen to see it grow here, where there’s a growing need for residents to secure long-term tenancies that offer a large range of amenities,” Aqualand group managing director Jin Lin said.

“While the preference for rented accommodation has traditionally been strong with younger generations, the demand for high-quality rental product now spans multiple generations.”

Other prominent projects for the developer include AURA by Aqualand at 168 Walker Street, which is scheduled to open in mid-2024, and BLUE at Lavender Bay, completed in 2021.

Other assets include commercial projects such as 15 Blue Street and 132 Arthur Street which Lin has earmarked as potential sites for future redevelopment.

Aqualand’s lifestyle and hospitality brand Etymon Projects will also soon open Poetica at 1 Denison Street and already runs Loulou Bistro in Milsons Point.

Four other venues are also planned to open at AURA next year. 

▲ AsheMorgan says with 900-plus apartments, its build-to-rent project in Melbourne’s Docklands will be the biggest in the country.

AsheMorgan’s BtR forges ahead

Meanwhile, Sydney-based investment company AsheMorgan’s plans for a build-to-rent project in Melbourne has moved to the next stage of the planning process.

In July 2023 the company submitted plans to the Victorian government’s Department of Transport and Planning for the 1000sq m site at 24 Little Docklands Drive at Docklands for what will be Melbourne’s biggest build-to-rent project.

Those plans have now been referred to the City of Melbourne.

The next step will now involve planning officers creating a report and council members deciding whether they support the project or not before informing the state department. 

Victorian planning minister Sonya Kilkenny will be the determining authority on the project which will be assessed by a planning panel.

The project has an estimated cost $700 million and would create more than 900 apartments across two buildings in the Docklands. 

Tenants would  have access to facilities such as a gymnasium, pool, sauna and steam room and a sky terrace with kitchen and dining areas.

A dog park, dog wash, retail space and public open space and gardens are also planned for the project.

Plans show a a mix of studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments for the towers, which would sit next to another project by AsheMorgan—District Docklands, a mixed-use urban village.