Sentinel Approved for SA’s First Institutional BtR

International build-to-rent juggernaut Sentinel will build a 12-storey, 240-apartment development in Renewal SA’s Bowden precinct after winning approval for the project. 

It will be the state’s first institutional build-to-rent project that Sentinel Australia will build and operate, under its property management platform Kinleaf. 

The purpose-built rental community will be at the corner of Third and Gibson streets at Lot 53 in the Bowden development area, and will comprise a mixture of studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments. 

It will be a pet-friendly and environmentally conscious building with small office home office (SOHO) spaces. Other amenities include a swimming pool and fitness centre. 

Sentinel Australia managing director Keith Lucas said they were pleased to have received approval for South Australia’s first purpose-built institutional build-to-rent community. 

“The development is designed to offer South Australians greater housing choice and to add to the vibrancy of the walkable and inviting Bowden Urban Village,” Lucas said. 

▲ Sentinel’s latest accommodation at West Melbourne. (Picture by Timothy Burgess, Image Play)

Sentinel Fund Manager Australia was set up in 2010, primarily to raise capital for export to the US, but by 2012 the New York-based parent company—with $14.3 billion in real estate assets under management—was seriously looking at build-to-rent in Australia.

The fund manager has 1600 apartments either completed or under way in the Australian market. 

Sentinel Real Estate president Michael Streicker visited the country recently and sat down with The Urban Developer. 

Streicker said the fund manager was aiming to break into the suburban Sydney market, which has been a missing piece in its national aspirations. 

South Australia’s Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Nick Champion, said the development would provide diversity to Adelaide’s housing stock and help to enhance Bowden’s vibrant urban village.

Adelaide has the lowest rental vacancy rate in Australia at 0.5 per cent. 

“The build-to-rent asset class is game changing for South Australia because it challenges the established tenant/landlord relationship giving power back to tenants—critical when rental vacancies are below 1 per cent,” Champion said.

“The Bowden precinct is becoming an increasingly diverse and vibrant provider of housing options for South Australians looking for alternative and flexible housing options.”

Sentinel Australia is targeting a carbon neutral certification, a 5-Star Green Star rating and a 7.5-star NatHERS rating on completion. 

The Bowden precinct is the South Australian government’s first higher density urban infill revitalisation project and is 2.5km from Adelaide’s CBD on 16ha of land. 

The urban regeneration project is forecast to accommodate 3000 new residents when completed.