ApartmentsKirsten CrazeFri 13 Nov 26
Bathla’s Rouse Hill Precinct Tops Listings as Assets Come to Market
The 250-home scheme joins substantial landholdings in NSW and Queensland, with the $3.4-billion collapse entering a new phase...
Bathla Group’s $3.4-billion collapse is entering a new phase, as a growing portfolio of apartments, development sites and distressed properties come to market across Australia.
Holdings now on the block span Sydney’s north-west growth corridor, regional NSW and as far north as Queensland’s Fraser Coast, with others expected to follow.
They are among the first significant Bathla-linked assets to be formally marketed since the group entered voluntary administration on August 25.
Bathla Group hit trouble with more than $3.4 billion in reported debt, including $3.1 billion owed to secured creditors, $145 million to the ATO and $130 million to unsecured creditors.
At the time of the crash, Bathla had approximately 2500 homes under construction and 14,000 sites in its pipeline.
After administrators failed to secure long-term funding, all 13 remaining active construction sites were shut down in September, with more than 200 employees immediately stood down.
The largest holding to come to market is a scheme comprising 255 completed apartments at Rouse Hill, which is being marketed by CBRE on behalf of FTI Consulting receivers and managers.
Sora (formerly known as Sanctuary Quarter under Bathla) includes one, two and three-bedroom units—the unsold portion of a 339-apartment development across six low-rise buildings on 7779sq m on Tallawong and Macquarie roads.
The portfolio, offered through an expressions of interest campaign due to close on December 3, is for sale in one line or in smaller bundles. An occupation certificate and registered strata plan was issued in September, allowing contracts to settle.
The campaign highlights the area’s transport links, including Tallawong Metro Station about 1km away, and points to rental growth and low vacancy rates across Rouse Hill and Tallawong as supporting factors for investors.
Nearby at the northern edge of Rouse Hill town centre, at 34 Spring Mill Avenue, a 2.02ha site has been listed with approval for 330 units.
Marketed by Knight Frank on behalf of KordaMentha as receivers and managers, the property has been declared a State Significant Development for a larger proposed scheme featuring 1045 apartments and mixed-use components.
The site, opposite the soon-to-be-complete $910-million Rouse Hill Hospital, is being offered through an expressions of interest campaign due to close on December 8.
Also in Sydney’s north-west, five dilapidated homes at 11-19 Yattenden Crescent, Baulkham Hills have been listed by Cushman & Wakefield for FTI Consulting.
The 3552sq m holding was bought by Bathla for $12.2 million in 2022 and was earmarked for a 200-apartment, 15-storey building.
Zoned R4 high density residential, the site also has potential for seniors housing, retirement living and integrated care and is asking for expressions of interest before November 18.
Regional assets extend the sell-off
Meanwhile, two substantial development opportunities are on the block in regional markets.
At Hervey Bay, about 300km north of Brisbane, a 4.08ha waterfront holding in the Urangan precinct has been listed with McGrathNicol as receivers and managers MA Holland and AN Connelly.
According to marketing material, the eight-title parcel could be bought as one holding, individually or in tailored combinations.
Ray White Special Projects agent Mark Creevey said the site’s drawcard was the combination of scale, approval and position.
“Buyers can take the whole holding and stage it, or target approximately the parcels that suit their strategy,” he said.
“Finding a coastal site this size with extensive street exposure and development approval already locked is an exception in established markets.”
A 1.6ha portion at 640-644 Esplanade has development approval for 390 apartments across two 20-storey towers, including a ground-floor commercial space and rooftop restaurant.
It has 161m of frontage to Boat Harbour Drive and 253m along the Esplanade, and holds mixed-use zoning, allowing residential, retail, commercial and tourist accommodation.
And in western NSW at Orange, a 7.03ha site at 91 and 131 Shiralee Road has come to market with Ray White Commercial Central West and Ray White Special Projects Queensland, also on behalf of McGrathNicol receivers.
Held by an entity linked to Bathla Group, the North Shiralee property has development consent for 105 residential lots, as well as three public reserves. Expressions of interest are due to close on December 10.
Ray White Commercial Central West managing director Scott Timbrell said comparable sites were rarely available in the region.
“This isn’t a paper approval. The works certificate is certified, the civil engineering package is complete and earthworks have started, so a buyer can move straight to construction and sales,” Timbrell said.
“Orange’s rental vacancy rate has stayed below 1 per cent, and the council and NSW Planning say the city will need about 4000 more homes by 2036. A site of this scale is exactly what that need calls for.”
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