Castle Group $119m Deal Pads Out NSW Pipeline

A prolific western Sydney developer has paid what’s claimed as a suburb record for a 41ha supersite and is plotting a 550-home masterplanned development.

The site at Lot 10 Gurner Avenue, Austral, sold to Castle Group for $119.5 million. The previous biggest price paid for a property in the suburb was $42 million, according to Colliers.

The deal was brokered by Joe Sacco of Colliers and Frank Oliveri of Oliveri Capital on behalf of the Hellenic Village, which is made up of 21 Greek community associations in Sydney, representing several ancestral groups and cultural organisations.

Castle Group said it planned a “connected and sustainable community ...  [close] to major infrastructure and jobs at the Western Sydney Airport and aerotropolis [and] the natural bushland of Western Sydney Parklands”.

The site is about 20 minutes by road from the airport, which is due to open next year.

Castle Group head of development Stuart Allen said the development would cater to the growing demand for low and medium-density housing in western Sydney.

He said the group was investing heavily in south-west Sydney.

The latest acquisition brought to seven the number of projects it had in the region, comprising more than 1000 homes, Allen said.

▲ A rendering of the masterplanned community Castle Group plans for its latest buy, a 41ha site at Austral.

Austral has been earmarked for significant residential and commercial development, supported by local and state government initiatives such as ongoing upgrades to road networks, including Bringelly Road and The Northern Road, which improve access to major motorways the M7 and M5.

Castle Group was founded by Ritchie Perera in 2007, and began by developing accommodation unit for the mining industry in remote parts of Australia.

It expanded into residential development in 2014, specialising in low and midrise projects in Sydney’s south-west, and had since completed projects for a total value of more than $1 billion, the group said.