Barings Breaks Ground on $400m Waterloo Project

A 400-apartment project that could accommodate more than 1000 residents at Sydney’s Waterloo has been hailed as transformative as shovels hit dirt this week. 

Barings will act as investor, developer and asset manager for Aware Super’s direct residential portfolio, which will own the development on a 1.7ha site at 44-48 O’Dea Avenue, just north of Green Square in central Sydney. 

Aware Super acquired the site in September of 2023 in a $121-million deal with Crown Group, prompted by the latter group’s liquidation following a stalemate between its founders.

DASCO Australia has been appointed as builder of the five-building project, which was designed by Koichi Takada Architects, Silvester Fuller, and Plus Architecture.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the project would deliver more homes to the suburb, which supported the vision for “vibrant, growing communities in well-located areas”.

Barings head of Asia Pacific real estate Alastair Wright said the development was helping to shape “central Sydney’s urban future”. 

Aware Super chief executive Deanne Stewart said the Waterloo project was in line with Aware Super’s remit to support the communities where its 1.2-million members lived, worked and retired. 

“We’ve been investing in build-to-rent since 2018 and today is further proof of our commitment to delivering our members strong, long-term returns while also addressing one of the most pressing issues facing Australians,” Stewart said. 

▲ The designs offer a “more subtle building character” of brick and dark metal cladding “to better reference the previous industrial history of the suburb”.
 

The project masterplan aims to deliver a total of 400 apartments across five buildings, including studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments. It will also comprise ground-floor retail and dining as well as new public streets and public domain. 

Completion of the first stage, which includes 216 build-to-sell apartments is slated for early 2027. 

The development forms part of a broader residential portfolio being delivered by Barings and Aware Super across Sydney and Melbourne, spanning both build-to-rent and build-to-sell projects.

Backed by Aware Super’s $1.5-billion commitment to residential property and a decade-long partnership with Barings, the broader portfolio reflects a shared vision for high-quality, sustainable housing that meets the evolving needs of urban communities.

The partnership already has 677 operational apartments across 10 developments and seven longer-term development sites on the horizon, which include almost 2000 homes under construction or in planning.