The historic home of Channel Nine in Sydney’s lower north shore has hit the market, less than two months after receiving approval for a $400 million-plus masterplan to develop 460 apartments.
Joint venture partners Lotus Group and Hong Kong-based Euro Properties have confirmed they will sell the 2.9-hectare site, which is being marketed as having a gross realisation value of more than $1 billion.
The approved masterplan, designed by architecture firm Chrofi, comprises nine buildings ranging from four to 9-storeys and up to 7,000sq m of public open space.
The site has been the home to Channel 9 studios for 50 years, with the network selling the Artarmon Road, Willoughby site to the joint venture partners for $147.5 million in 2015.
Industry sources said they expect the site will now fetch north of $200 million.
The nine network will remain on site until 2020, relocating to Winten Property Group’s 39-storey 1 Denison Street office skyscraper in North Sydney where the studio will take up 17,000 square metres.
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The joint venture — trading as LEPC9 — had denied rumours they were looking to sell the site until this week.
Euro Properties executive director Jeff Chan said that LEPC9 had resolved to take the site to market after receiving “numerous advances from prominent groups”.
“Since the joint venture acquired the site in August 2015, we have added considerable value in developing the masterplan and working with Chrofi to conceive this highly-sophisticated concept plan for the site.”
Colliers has been appointed to market the site.
Colliers residential national director Guillaume Volz said the site is the most significant that has come to market in 2019.
“It signals the beginning of a new cycle and will be hotly contested among most of the big development groups,” Volz said.
