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One of billionaire hotelier Sam Arnaout’s regional NSW hotels, complete with an approved DA to develop the site into a residential tower, has come to market.The property at Coffs Harbour, about 500km north of Sydney, is one of two Ibis Budget hotels owned by Arnaout’s Iris Capital being sold.The other is at Dubbo, about 400km west of the NSW capital. They are being offered as in-one-line or individually.Iris Capital who acquired the hotels as part of the 17-asset AccorInvest Portfolio in 2021. “Our group has evolved considerably in the past couple of years headlined by major development projects in Newcastle and the Gold Coast,” Arnaout said. “It made sense to capitalise on investor interest and re-direct the proceeds into the core focus and future of our business.”JLL Hotels &amp; Hospitality’s Andrew Langsford, Nick Roche and Taylor O’Brien are marketing the properties via an expressions-of-interest campaign.The Ibis Budget Coffs Harbour features 70 guest rooms, reception, restaurant, outdoor swimming pool and onsite parking and is within the Coffs Harbour CBD and close to the Pacific Highway and Harbour Drive.The property has a development application before the Coffs Harbour City Council to redevelop the 3205sqm freehold site.Proposed is a mixed-use development comprising 98 apartments in one, two and three bedrooms, 137 carparking spaces and one commercial unit.The development application was lodged by Iris Hotels Coffs Harbour Property—its director is Sam Arnout, who has an estimated worth of $2.3 billion.&nbsp;<div id="6xOjIgfPJtFZOzUmhEbXKh"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7mKmQ3NFUWsoHPKc487q5V/a863eb95aea230c5b48a65fa728fc49a/Mid_article_resizes__77_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7mKmQ3NFUWsoHPKc487q5V/a863eb95aea230c5b48a65fa728fc49a/Mid_article_resizes__77_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Iris Capital head Sam Arnaout and the Coffs Harbour Ibis hotel. </div></div>The Ibis Budget Dubbo comprises 65 guest rooms, reception, restaurant, swimming pool and onsite parking.Both properties are managed by Accor, however, vacant possession is available upon sale.Begun in 1995, <a data-mce-href="https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=756112276a0564662" href="https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=756112276a0564662" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iris Capital</a> had by 2006 acquired 13 hotels. Its holdings include Ibis hotels in NSW, Queensland and the ACT, including Canberra, Fawkner, Dandenong, Brisbane Airport, Newcastle, St Peters, Enfield, Wentworthville, Liverpool, and Campelltown.It also holds 35 pubs and two casinos, in Alice Springs and Canberra. Iris has residential developments in Queensland and NSW in its pipeline, including <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/iris-capital-queensgate-potts-point-amendments-filed" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/iris-capital-queensgate-potts-point-amendments-filed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Potts Point</a>.

Two of Sam Aranout’s 17 Ibis hotels are being offered for sale in NSW, one with approval for a 98-apartment tower…

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Six years after its pool was bulldozed to make way for a stadium, Parramatta has flung the doors open on its architecturally-designed aquatic centre.&nbsp;The $88.6-million pool was co-funded by the NSW and local governments after a bun fight over who would foot the bill. &nbsp;&nbsp;The aquatic centre was forecast to attract up to a million swimmers each year ahead of its opening this week.&nbsp;The circular structure is at Mays Hills in Parramatta Park.&nbsp;The Grimshaw Architects-led design team, with Andrew Burges Architects and McGregor Coxall, was charged with creating something that blended into the landscape, despite its 40,000sq m footprint.&nbsp;<div id="7JwLTsBQVCTKC0IXoqaiAQ"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7FRMe8f0I9QDt5o8VPqJib/56d6d55d48ba2afbe7b78ebf19b68b5f/Parra_Pool_MID2.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7FRMe8f0I9QDt5o8VPqJib/56d6d55d48ba2afbe7b78ebf19b68b5f/Parra_Pool_MID2.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The circular design of the aquatic centre was designed to limit its intrusion into the surrounding Parramatta Park. </div></div>The Parramatta pool is a modern take on the traditional aquatic centre typology with a focus on outdoor landscaping and recreational space as a place of gathering, according to the architects.It is the second collaboration between Grimshaw and Andrew Burges Architects, who also delivered the award-winning Gunyama Park Aquatic and Recreation Centre at Sydney’s Green Square.&nbsp;Grimshaw Ppoject director Josh Henderson said it was a much-needed piece of infrastructure for western Sydney.&nbsp;“The design team, <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/parramatta-nsw-pedestrian-link-plan" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/parramatta-nsw-pedestrian-link-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">City of Parramatta</a> and builder (Lipman) have all collaborated to create a valuable community asset that is enjoyable to experience, well made, highly functional and accessible,” Henderson said.&nbsp;“As a new home to many community groups, the opening of the facility will provide vibrant landscaped public spaces for fitness, sport, learn to swim classes and for time with friends and family.”<div id="47hW75bB7AK721qQugteFW"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/lLuZ4k8sDV79VtXiehEaz/7aa249129f384d36aeca62c65162e5a4/Parra_Pool_MID1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/lLuZ4k8sDV79VtXiehEaz/7aa249129f384d36aeca62c65162e5a4/Parra_Pool_MID1.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The aquatic centre is forecast to attract a million visitors each year. </div></div>Andrew Burges Architects principal Andrew Burges said the design of the aquatic centre was about sensitively locating the relatively large scale of the development into its park setting with “minimal disruption”.&nbsp;“Our goal was to provide a completely new vision of what an Aquatic Centre could be,” Burges said. &nbsp;“We wanted to create a destination for the community, one that provides opportunity for many forms of recreation in a safe and inspiring facility that feels more like a landscape setting than a building.”The Parramatta pool is one of a long list of pool redevelopments that are happening across Sydney.&nbsp;The <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/multimillion-dollar-plans-for-sydney-olympic-pool-redevelopment" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/multimillion-dollar-plans-for-sydney-olympic-pool-redevelopment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$89-million North Sydney Olympic pool</a> is due to reopen in 2024, as is the Willoughby Leisure Centre, while Canterbury’s aquatic centre rejuvenation is due for completion in 2025.&nbsp;The new Parramatta Aquatic Centre comprises a 50m outdoor pool, a 25m indoor pool, a learn-to-swim pool and indoor water playground, a health and wellness centre and gym, in addition to 360 solar panels.&nbsp;<a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/urban-property-unveils-parramatta-btr-office" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/urban-property-unveils-parramatta-btr-office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">City of Parramatta</a> Lord Mayor Sameer Pandey said the aquatic centre had been thoughtfully designed for future generations.&nbsp;

After six years with no pool, the lane ropes are out on Parramatta's $88-million architecturally designed aquatic centre. See inside...

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It’s no secret that the industrial sector has been booming but problems with supply and planning constraints are stunting the growth of Covid’s real estate “golden child”.&nbsp;Ethos Urban planning director and national industrial sector specialist Angus Halligan, who will present at The Urban Developer <a data-mce-href="https://web.cvent.com/event/4bba1b94-b195-48e2-8a51-12b51636639b/summary?RefId=General%20Admission%20%7C%20Editorial&amp;rt=X_aufiJPxEeHOTaMYZfoiQ" href="https://web.cvent.com/event/4bba1b94-b195-48e2-8a51-12b51636639b/summary?RefId=General%20Admission%20%7C%20Editorial&amp;rt=X_aufiJPxEeHOTaMYZfoiQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Industrial Property vSummit on September 28</a>, said that industrial land supply issues were being compounded by state-specific complexities.&nbsp;“Sydney has unlocked a lot of industrial land such as that at Aerotropolis and Mamre Road Precinct (main images),” he.&nbsp;“But the headaches are in having to develop infrastructure in those areas which means that while there is land identified for release, we can’t unlock it and applications are not moving through fast enough.”&nbsp;Correctly zoned land might be available, he said, but that was only half the story when answering the supply question.&nbsp;“There is a burden on being the first developer in these newer precincts due to the associated costs with road and water infrastructure. You have a laundry list of development application inputs.&nbsp;“Oftentimes in Sydney you’re effectively developing State Significant Developments, so the requirements on the applicant to build a warehouse in Western Sydney are not much different from if they were building a tower in Sydney CBD.“You’re put through the ringer in terms of how to document it.“The answer to that which is coming through is working with adjoining land owners. This has been critical to unlocking these sites; collectively trying to understand and work together to prepare the necessary documentation.“Collectively you have greater power to work with Transport NSW and other stakeholders, so those landowner groups are becoming essential.”&nbsp;<div id="6AJIYWLGRSGpa1OEyXATJc"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2YtptUcbTVWllhHa1Ukx9P/33aa3019d72dc3adc6af4a7e629215f4/Angus_Halligan_Ethos_Urban_mid.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2YtptUcbTVWllhHa1Ukx9P/33aa3019d72dc3adc6af4a7e629215f4/Angus_Halligan_Ethos_Urban_mid.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Ethos Urban’s Angus Halligan will present at The Urban Developer Industrial Property vSummit on September 28. </div></div>Industrial sector developers are facing these planning issues in NSW in particular, while in Victoria a lack of earmarked land is causing problems.“In Victoria, there is a lack of clear guidance from the state for new tracts of industrial supply. The Dandenong South corridor is largely taken up and in the absence of corridors as identified by the state government, the market is turning to infill,” Halligan said.&nbsp;“As a result, while it is a few years behind Sydney when it comes to vertical warehousing, that product is starting to come into the market.”&nbsp;With a handful of vertical warehousing projects on the go in Sydney and one in Victoria, Ethos Urban and other planners and developers are facing increasing challenges with design and planning.&nbsp;“Everyone is interested in the challenges involved, as they certainly are taking on a new level of complexity, but the vertical model takes a step up in architectural offering compared to previous warehouses,” he said.“On the outskirts of the city you could construct a warehouse quickly, but with vertical offerings comes this need for visual impact assessment.“We’re seeing a need for early consideration of facade treatments and what is this going to look like, as lots of developments creep into areas that have mixed use rather than just outer periphery locations.”&nbsp;These complexities and the length of time it takes to get a development application has led developers to look to other markets.“In absence of an immediate answer to Sydney’s planning deadlock, our clients are looking at this issue and some are looking further to South-East Queensland and Victorian markets as being an answer to that problem.&nbsp;“Great outcomes can be achieved but they are slow to manifest.” <hr> The Urban Developer&nbsp;Industrial Development vSummit will take place on Thursday, September 28.&nbsp;<a data-mce-href="https://web.cvent.com/event/4bba1b94-b195-48e2-8a51-12b51636639b/summary?RefId=General%20Admission%20%7C%20Editorial&amp;rt=X_aufiJPxEeHOTaMYZfoiQ" href="https://web.cvent.com/event/4bba1b94-b195-48e2-8a51-12b51636639b/summary?RefId=General%20Admission%20%7C%20Editorial&amp;rt=X_aufiJPxEeHOTaMYZfoiQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to register and learn more.&nbsp;</a>

The sector’s evolving needs are creating challenges, says Ethos Urban’s Angus Halligan, ahead of The Urban Developer’s Industrial vSummit…

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Developers can move ahead on a high-density residential precinct on Sydney Metro’s old tunneling site despite objections from City of Parramatta.&nbsp;The NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) gave consent for Sydney Metro’s plans for five buildings from five to 15 storeys to be developed at 242-244 Beecroft Road, Epping.Landcom lodged the on behalf of Sydney Metro and announced DASCO would to transform the site in October, 2021.It was one of many projects appointed through a sales process across the&nbsp; Sydney Metro Northwest Places program, which was expected to deliver 10,000 homes on 65ha of land.The mixed-use development in Epping comprises 374 apartments including 19 affordable homes managed by a community housing provider for a period of 15 years.The plans also show 923sq m of commercial space at an investment of $143 million.The IPC determined “the project was in the public interest” and was “in accordance with the objects of the [Environmental Planning &amp; Assessment Act 1979]” while acknowledging council concerns.The commissioners visited the site in early September and invited the City of Parramatta Council to discuss their views on the project.Instead, council officers gave a written submission about their concerns regarding building height, setbacks, separation and solar access to communal open space.&nbsp;<div id="38NLzq5krQ9TxqSKjc3c0i"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6gZzkQLnHvsYwXIDbri5G2/b49f114364711de95e9a139757c7c71d/Copy_of_Mid_article_resizes__59_.jpg" alt="three images depicting a five building development, the design is modern with clean lines and five buildings of various sizes " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6gZzkQLnHvsYwXIDbri5G2/b49f114364711de95e9a139757c7c71d/Copy_of_Mid_article_resizes__59_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Renders of the now-approved mixed-use development in Epping.</div><div> </div></div>The 10.01ha site is 300m north of Epping Railway Station and surrounded by buildings up to 22 storeys.The NSW planning minister at the time granted approval for the mixed-use development in mid-2020.Modifications to those plans since then included changing building alignments by 15 degrees, increasing the heights by less than 4m, relocating the basement carpark and rearranging public space.&nbsp;

NSW IPC gave consent for Sydney Metro’s plans for five buildings from five to 15-storeys high to be developed at 242-244 Beecroft Road, Epping...

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It’s official—Sydney’s property market is overvalued.&nbsp;According to the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index of 2023, the housing bubbles are deflating—real house prices fell by 5 per cent on average.But the NSW capital remains far too expensive compared to its inhabitants’ incomes. The city chalked up 16th in the ranking of residential property markets across 25 cities around the world.&nbsp;The reality for aspiring homeowners now is that affordability is at its worst.&nbsp;AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said the widening gap between house prices and incomes was to blame.&nbsp;“At its core, housing affordability is determined by home prices, income levels and interest rates,” Oliver said.&nbsp;“Whichever way you cut it, housing affordability has deteriorated massively in recent decades.”According to the 2023 Demographia Affordability Survey, the median multiple of house prices to income for major cities is 8.2 times in Australia, compared to 5 times in the UK.In Sydney it’s 13.3 times the income.&nbsp;And there is more pain in the wings, according to Oliver, who said that mortgage interest payments as a share of household income would rise to record levels once the current interest rates fully washed through.&nbsp;The UBS analysis found that a skilled service worker had to work seven years in order to <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sydney-luxury-market-heats-up-double-bay-ode" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sydney-luxury-market-heats-up-double-bay-ode" target="_blank" rel="noopener">be able to afford to buy a 60sq m apartment near Sydney’s city centre</a>.&nbsp;According to UBS, bubbles are linked to decoupling of prices from local incomes and rents, and imbalances in the real economy, including excessive lending and construction activity.&nbsp;Two cities, Zurich and Tokyo, remain in the bubble-risk category, down from nine cities in the previous year’s results.&nbsp;UBS reports that the Sydney housing market has been “very volatile” in recent years, moving in and out of the bubble risk category.&nbsp;The Reserve Bank of Australia’s aggressive rate hikes have more recently triggered a new sharp price correction. Inflation-adjusted prices are back to 2018 levels, according to UBS.Sydney is ranked 16th in the Global Real Estate Bubble Index for this year, with about a third of global cities falling in the fair-value category, with the remainder either overvalued or within the risk zone.&nbsp;“After a brief period of weakness between 2018 and 2019, prices surged by almost 25 per cent cumulatively across 2020 and 2021,” the report said.&nbsp;“Amid robust rental growth and lower household leverage, imbalances have declined sharply. The market is classified at the lower end of the overvalued territory.”

Sydney's overheated market continues to run out of step with its inhabitants' incomes who are paying 13.3 times their income to afford a median-priced home...

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Housing, planning and infrastructure were always going to be key features of NSW premier Chris Minns’ first Budget—and while it has been welcomed in some quarters, others say it has not gone far enough.&nbsp;During the past few years, the planning process and issues with trunk infrastructure has prompted policies and reforms to streamline processes. This Budget aims to do the same.And while NSW treasurer Daniel Mookhey may have delivered a Budget with some hard choices in it, it is now up to planning minister Paul Scully and the Labor goverment to push through those reforms.The Urban Developer breaks down what the funding and policy decisions will mean for developers working in the state that is often named as the most expensive in Australia to call home. &nbsp;<hr><h2> Housing</h2> The first piece of big news is the $224 million set aside for a Government Essential Housing Package.This will include $70 million in debt financing for homes in regional NSW and $35.3 million for housing services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people via Services Our Way.There will be $35 million put aside for critical and necessary social housing maintenance and $20 million within Restart NSW set aside for dedicated mental health housing.The NSW Housing fund will get $15 million for urgent priority and homelessness housing with $11.3 million to extend the Together Home program.&nbsp;Temporary housing and accommodation will also get a boost with $10.5 million allocated to the Community Housing Leasing Program and $10 million for Modular Housing Trial, while &nbsp;$5.9 million will be provided for urgent specialist homelessness services.&nbsp;But Urban Taskforce chief executive Tom Forrest sees a problem.“There is no new incentive in this Budget for the private sector to increase housing supply,” Forrest said.“The private sector delivers over 95 per cent of the new housing (both rental and homes for sale).“The disproportionate focus on social and affordable housing is a symptom of the government throwing Band-Aids on the housing supply crisis rather than taking bold steps to solve the problem.”There will also be a new NSW Rental Commissioner and a portable rental bond scheme introduced while a commitment to working on protecting tenants from eviction and allowing pets was also announced.&nbsp;Where the money will come from for these measures is a key concern for developers who will need to now provide $1.5 billion through changes to infrastructure contributions.&nbsp;“The $2.2-billion housing and infrastructure plan is largely funded from a tax on the supply of new homes,” Forrest said.“[The] $1.5 billion of the revenue to support this package comes from the new Housing Productivity Contribution.”Meanwhile, property investors will now need a 25 per cent stake in a property before they can claim land tax exemptions for a property as their primary place of residence. There are also tax changes for private unit trusts to prevent them being used for tax minimisation.<div id="1gIUIlbcBWs3iHgn0j3FiO"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/lNIk0SayEM51NX5kUSZyh/4b73390ea11b02912e1ec2e21a6ba3ed/5.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/lNIk0SayEM51NX5kUSZyh/4b73390ea11b02912e1ec2e21a6ba3ed/5.jpg"></picture><div>▲ This Budget is the first under Chris Minns as NSW premier. </div></div><h2>Planning</h2> Planning reform has long been on NSW Labor’s agenda and it featured heavily in the run-up to the election.A Faster Planning Program with $38.7 million in funding was announced with $24 million set aside for a NSW Building Commission, which will be tasked with protecting buyers and ensuring housing quality.In a bid to free up more land for housing, $9.1 million has been allocated to assessing new opportunities for housing on government-owned land.AI or artificial intelligence also got a mention with a proposal to use it to help speed up the planning system as well as more efficient.&nbsp;The Budget has allocated $5.6 million to this policy, which was a recent request in the Property Council’s Housing Outcomes report, according to NSW executive director Katie Stevenson.“Increased funding for social and affordable housing and investigating the use of artificial intelligence to make the planning system more efficient were key reform asks from our recent Housing Outcomes report, so we particularly welcome their inclusion as part of the government’s first Budget,” Stevenson said.But she highlighted a key issue that has dogged the state’s planning system consistently—<a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sydney-nsw-housing-target-affordability-shortfall" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sydney-nsw-housing-target-affordability-shortfall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trunk infrastructure, particularly in greenfield and regional areas</a>.“There is an enormous difference between land that is simply rezoned and land that is ‘development ready’—the missing ingredient is enabling infrastructure such as water, roads and transport,” Stevenson said.Stevenson also wanted to see more done within the CBD.“While the focus on housing and infrastructure is welcomed, industry will be disappointed that the NSW government has not delivered a funding boost for CBD activation in this Budget,” she said.&nbsp;“Our cities are the major economic engines of our state and while the $26-million investment in expanding the work of the Office of the 24 Hour Economy Commissioner is welcome, a large-scale funded program to turbocharge CBD revitalisation is needed.”Other reforms announced included redirecting resources from the Greater Cities Commission and the Western Parkland City Authority.<a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/new-south-wales-nsw-chris-minns-election-2023-property-development" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/new-south-wales-nsw-chris-minns-election-2023-property-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It does not deliver on all election promises </a>with development rules around train stations and new housing targets for local councils and Sydney regions still yet to be announced.&nbsp;“The Budget’s commitment to an overhaul of the Greater Cities Commission and the Western Parkland City Authority, with a focus on redirecting resources to deliver housing approvals, is welcome,” Forrest said.“But this is just the start and much more is needed to restore private sector confidence and for housing supply to begin to rise.”&nbsp;<div id="3B0AcNqgYN5EUiRthPixoN"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6H4tYqX05AWQD3t1H82rfB/566fbc899246347a0a27c2ba2e8951c5/Mid_article_resizes__4_.jpg" alt="Incoming NSW planning minister Paul Scully." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6H4tYqX05AWQD3t1H82rfB/566fbc899246347a0a27c2ba2e8951c5/Mid_article_resizes__4_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ NSW planning minister Paul Scully will now be responsible for delivering several promised reforms to make the state planning system more efficient. </div></div><h2>Infrastructure</h2> The state government’s aim is to move population growth around key infrastructure and to get more high density closer to central Sydney.But the NSW Fast Rail has been one of the key infrastructure projects that has been nipped in the bud in the interest of saving $2.5 billion.&nbsp;This means that there will be no work done on fast-rail connections, including no Great Western Highway duplication, no new Dungowan Dam or pipeline augmentation and no wall raising for the Wyangala Dam.What it then does provide is part of the combined $2.2 billion for housing and infrastructure in the 2023-2024 state budget.Landcom will get $300 million of that for building 4700 new homes, of which 30 per cent have to be affordable housing in addition to the $60 million it has to develop build-to-rent projects along the northern and southern coasts.&nbsp;Restart NSW will get $400 million for a new Housing Infrastructure Fund while the remaining $1.5 billion will be spent on building roads, parks, hospitals and schools to support new homes being built in Sydney, the Lower Hunter, Central Coast and the IllawarraWyangala Dam—all key growth areas.A new regional rail fleet will cost $1.4 billion while $390 million will be allocated to the Regional Economy Road Repair Fund.The Regional Roads Fund will get $334 million to build new roads, the Fixing Country Bridges Program $333.9 million and the Fixing Country Rail Program $95.9 million—all key to supporting people wanting to live in regional areas and the developers wanting to build there.Transitioning to zero emission buses will cost $29.4 million, the Transport Connect Bus Program $20.2 million and improving heavy vehicle rest stops $10 million.<div id="3rYRtdgyPquXWjFfyNS4BU"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/8YPsXg43j33vwHmUXRPLV/ef82c4a74dadaa136fae918ca2a54b19/pyrmont_mid.jpeg" alt="An image of a train platform with glass doors separating the platform from the track: a render of one of the platforms at the proposed Pyrmont Station on the Sydney West Metro line. " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/8YPsXg43j33vwHmUXRPLV/ef82c4a74dadaa136fae918ca2a54b19/pyrmont_mid.jpeg"></picture><div>▲ A render of a platform at the proposed Pyrmont Station on the Sydney West Metro line. </div></div>Despite the Fast Rail cut, rail has had wins in the Budget with $72.3 billion allocated over four years to transport.That includes $1 billion to bring the <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sydney-metro-west-contract-awarded-john-holland" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sydney-metro-west-contract-awarded-john-holland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sydney Metro City and Southwest project</a> back on track and $7.9 billion over four years for the Sydney Metro to Western Sydney Airport line.This line will have six new stations and connect to <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/western-sydney-aerotropolis-everything-you-need-to-know" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/western-sydney-aerotropolis-everything-you-need-to-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aerotropolis and the new Western Sydney International Airport, </a>which is expecting its first flight in 2026.The metro line projects have been beleaguered by many delays with worker strikes, bad weather and Covid blamed for cost blowouts.&nbsp;Only the Northwest line has been delivered on time and below budget.A rapid bus network to connect Penrith, Liverpool and Campbelltown to the new international airport will cost $302.7 million and another $300 million will fund upgrading train station carparks and improving accessibility.&nbsp;<div id="Xt4iGwpSce5Dou0Er05zX"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7MX3nKneVXmNAVZjFQcovH/541ba0932b02b914614189c7f8d37a1c/Western_Sydney_Aerotropolis_MID.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7MX3nKneVXmNAVZjFQcovH/541ba0932b02b914614189c7f8d37a1c/Western_Sydney_Aerotropolis_MID.jpg"></picture><div>▲ A render of part of the Western Sydney Aerotropolis project. </div></div>The Property Council’s Western Sydney director Ross Grove said more could have been done for the region <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/go-west-developers-chase-western-sydney-upside" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/go-west-developers-chase-western-sydney-upside" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which is the focus of much developer interest</a>.“Our industry needs a plan from the government to get roads and water infrastructure moving in Mamre Road and the Aerotropolis,” Grove said.“Our members are ready and able to provide new warehouses, industries and jobs—but they simply can’t get the road capacity to make it happen.“These areas are a goldmine when it comes to future jobs and productivity and as taxpayers we simply can’t afford to spend $13 billion on building an international airport without also delivering the employment generating activities that are required to make the most of this investment.”The second stage of the Parramatta Light Rail will also proceed with $200 million allocated to it as will Freshwater Class ferries returning to the Circular Quay to Manly route costing $71.1 million.There will also be seven new Parramatta River Class ferries costing $43 million.A new system to inform users of public transport schedules will cost $15.8 million and councils will have access to $60 million for active transport infrastructure such as bike lanes.&nbsp;<a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/healthcare-investment-australia-on-rises" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/healthcare-investment-australia-on-rises" target="_blank" rel="noopener">For developers focusing on alternative assets</a>, the Budget allocated $13.8 billion to deliver health facilities across the state including new hospitals.

Housing, planning and infrastructure featured heavily in the NSW Budget announcement. The Urban Developer breaks down what it all means for the sector…


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The battle to build shoptop housing next to Barrenjoey House continues with the latest plans now before the Northern Beaches Council.&nbsp;IPM Property’s Steven Sroba and Chris Webster are behind the proposed modern development opposite Palm Beach Wharf, at 1112–1116 Barrenjoey Road, Palm Beach.Koichi Takada Architects designed what appears as a five-storey development with a rooftop pool on the 1361sq m sloped-site for the Sydney-based developers.It is, however, a staggered three-to-four-storey development, with two ground floor retail tenancies, seven large apartments and one level of basement parking.This application follows the <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/tech-entrepreneur-disrupts-with-shop-top-development-proposal" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/tech-entrepreneur-disrupts-with-shop-top-development-proposal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">refusal nearby for tech rich-lister Robin Khuda</a> from AirTrunk who sought to amend a 2014 shoptop development on the other side of Barrenjoey House.Multiple submissions were made against these plans, which were rejected in April. An appeal had been lodged.It is yet to be seen if the community will be more supportive of IPM Property’s plans, which are a big change from the Lesiuk Architect designed application approved in 2010.<div id="3GDR67dsuCR2nXhlIqymjl"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7wFobgcnd9eUAyekVMtArs/79dd6c4103746cba475842841a057685/Copy_of_Mid_article_resizes__56_.jpg" alt="Render of a modern shoptop apartment. It has lots of landscaping and bamboo-coloured elements. " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7wFobgcnd9eUAyekVMtArs/79dd6c4103746cba475842841a057685/Copy_of_Mid_article_resizes__56_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The IPM Property development is two doors down from Barrenjoey House which was built in 1923. </div></div>There were also dozens of community submissions against the five-apartment-plus-commercial development by the Anastasopoulos family of similar scale.Records show the family sold the site in mid-2021 for $12 million along with its newly renovated beach house, grocer, ferry ticket shop, retail business on the site.“[There’s] superior design quality, amenity, streetscape, landscape, sustainability and heritage conservation outcomes compared to the shop top housing development approved by [then Pittwater] Council,” BBF Town Planners said in the new application.“The proposed development is sympathetic to its context and hillside location and contemporary in its use of materials and forms in response to local climate and the seaside village character anticipated by the Palm Beach Locality Statement.”<div id="66CuZZWuPNosy2JpiVLkOc"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1aogVW1eM8Su89MdrkL6g2/96a2fca66fcd812db182e572805a1396/Copy_of_Mid_article_resizes__58_.jpg" alt="A 2010 shoptop apartment design with black and green features and bougainvillaea. " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1aogVW1eM8Su89MdrkL6g2/96a2fca66fcd812db182e572805a1396/Copy_of_Mid_article_resizes__58_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ A render of the previous structure approved by Pittwater council. </div></div>Restaurants and businesses facing the Pitwater estuary and beachfront were heavily impacted by Covid and have remained vacant for the most part.Northern Beaches Council was formed in 2016, combining Manly, Pittwater and Warringah councils.&nbsp;

The battle to build shoptop housing next to Barrenjoey House continues with a new developer throwing their hat in the ring… 

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Mulpha, the Malaysian developer and real estate investor controlled by billionaire Lee Ming Tee and his family, has won approval for a $200-million, 17-storey hotel in Sydney’s Chinatown.The Sydney City Council has agreed to a 272-key hotel with ground floor restaurant and bar facilities at 355-357 Street, on the northern fringe of Haymarket.The developers will keep the façade of the existing five-storey warehouse, built around 1916 for Foley Brothers Pty Ltd and used for commercial factories until 1958. A second four-storey building will be demolished.Mulpha Australia said construction was expected to start in the first half of 2024 and finish in about two.Plans for the Cottee Parker-designed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/hotel-plans-filed-as-chinatown-sleeping-dragon-wakes" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/hotel-plans-filed-as-chinatown-sleeping-dragon-wakes">hotel were first lodged in May last year</a>, and signalled a rising number of developments across the precinct on the CBD’s southern edge.The development will be within walking distance of Darling Harbour, the Powerhouse Museum, the International Convention Centre, and Sydney’s famous Chinatown.Mulpha chief executive Greg Shaw said the hotel would contribute to the ongoing rejuvenation of the southern CBD into one of the most vibrant areas of Sydney.“With the strong rebound in both domestic and international tourism, it is vital that we have shovel-ready projects to grow accommodation capacity and meet demand,” Shaw said.“Sydney is leading the way in the Australian accommodation industry with strong occupancy levels set to increase further as the international market exceeds pre-Covid levels in 2024 and beyond.”<div id="3XBZLiTPigdxrTGVslp1Rp"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7ERMqIRdNbOlicDG1lyHE4/66fb0d67f31a711eca10958c868587b0/Mulpha__Mid_800_x_785.jpg" alt="Mulpha expects to begin construction on the Sussex Street hotel by the first half of next year." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7ERMqIRdNbOlicDG1lyHE4/66fb0d67f31a711eca10958c868587b0/Mulpha__Mid_800_x_785.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Mulpha expects to begin construction on the Sussex Street hotel by the first half of next year. </div></div>Mulpha—owner of a portfolio of top Australian hotel assets in Sydney, Perisher, the Hunter Valley, Hayman Island, Sanctuary Cove and Cairns—is currently in negotiations with potential operators of the new hotel.“This investment continues Mulpha’s long-term commitment to acquiring and developing high quality tourism and hospitality assets in key Australian destinations,” Shaw said.“We are advancing negotiations with global hotel operators to introduce new innovative hotel product for the Sydney market.”Mulpha’s Palmers Lane Retreat in the Hunter Valley is due to open in October 2023, and most recently it&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/mulpha-wins-tender-for-metro-towers-in-sydney-s-north-west" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/mulpha-wins-tender-for-metro-towers-in-sydney-s-north-west">won the tender to develop&nbsp;</a>three multi-level mixed-use towers on the Norwest Metro Station site, part of the biggest public transport project in Australia.That contract calls for three towers of 13 to 21 storeys on two podiums at 25-31 Brookhollow Avenue, Norwest, about 35km from downtown Sydney.The group has an extensive portfolio of real estate, property development, hospitality, education, retirement, private equity and debt assets, and also invests in some of the fastest growing and most vibrant economies in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.

Mulpha, the Malaysian developer and real estate investor controlled by billionaire Lee Ming Tee and his family, has won approval for a $200 million, 17-storey hotel in Sydney’s China Town.

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Fortis has won approval for stand-alone residential project, its first, in a popular Sydney beachside suburb.&nbsp;The development, to be called the Bronte Collection, will comprise nine four-bedroom homes with a communal basement.&nbsp;Each house will have views over Bronte Beach, a four-minute walk away, and feature large living, outdoor and entertaining spaces.There will be private dual garages with provisions for electric vehicle charging, private pools, outdoor showers and individual lifts.&nbsp;Some residences will have private gyms and saunas.&nbsp;&nbsp;Waverley Council this week gave the green light to Fortis for its plans for the 2472sq m site at 122-128 Hewlett Street, Bronte, about 7km east of the Sydney CBD.Work on the on the $134-million residential development is due to begin early nest year.The plans were designed by MHN Design Union with Alexander and Co and Lawless and Meyerson as interior architects.&nbsp;<div id="KMmnAJxJvtl9rWf7fFFaf"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5OTAGcV2tBW4BP7i3WC867/4787193c7cae0c90a92ff1253db76e51/fortis.jpeg" alt="Part of the design for the nine standalone luxury houses that Fortis plans to build in Bronte east of the Sydney CBD." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5OTAGcV2tBW4BP7i3WC867/4787193c7cae0c90a92ff1253db76e51/fortis.jpeg"></picture><div>▲ A render of four of the nine stand-alone luxury houses approved for Bronte. </div><div> </div></div>It is a change of direction for Fortis to undertake stand-alone housing, according to associate director Patrick Baldock.“This site marks the start of a chapter for Fortis as we enter a new sector of housing, designing standalone homes that strike a balance between contemporary and classical interiors,” Baldock said.PPD Real Estate principal Alexander Phillips said downsizers were keen on the area.“We anticipate strong demand for this high-quality product as the downsizer market continues to strengthen, principally in tightly held Eastern Suburbs coastal locations,” Phillips said.&nbsp;Last year, <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/bronte-surf-club-da-lodged-sydney" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/bronte-surf-club-da-lodged-sydney" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plans were filed for redeveloping Bronte’s Surf Club</a> to cater to the changing market.&nbsp;Fortis is the development arm of Pallas Group, which also is the parent company of real estate financier and investment manager Pallas Capital and was formed in 2016. by Patrick Keenan, Dan Gallen and Charles Mellick.The Fortis portfolio includes more than $500 million in completed residential and commercial projects, with a further $224 million to be completed by the end of the year.

Fortis is developing a $134 million project with a collection of luxury residential homes in one of Sydney's beachside eastern suburbs...

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Analysts think we could be looking over a cliff edge as demand for student accommodation remains unmet.A series of reports from CBRE and KPMG has highlighted the extent of the problem, with <a data-mce-href="https://mktgdocs.cbre.com/2299/c5166330-37d3-4674-8cda-dce518da0b37-1392467054.pdf" href="https://mktgdocs.cbre.com/2299/c5166330-37d3-4674-8cda-dce518da0b37-1392467054.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBRE’s research</a> finding that 8000 purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) rooms will be delivered across Australia between 2023 and 2026.&nbsp;While this may be a 7 per cent uplift, it is far less than individual global cities, such as Paris, which is expecting 18,000 rooms, and London with a projected 15,000 rooms for the same period.In fact, Australia is “deeply under-penetrated” with just one PBSA bed for every 16 students compared to nearly one bed for every two students in markets such as the UK.With the expected return of large numbers of international students and domestic students back on campuses, the situation, like that in housing in general, is becoming critical.&nbsp;“Supply is of course the larger question,” says chief executive of student accommodation operator UniLodge Tomas Johnsson.“We can’t open the papers without hearing about that problem. The whole government, the whole industry, is focused on it, and as a result, a lot of energy, a lot of resources and a lot of funding is shifting into the space.&nbsp;“That is very positive, and it also provides an opportunity for us.”<div id="5irp5YkuuN0CrsxlgbmB0c"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4z52mFH7HO7y7Xcizfhe5P/00e4506537bf98db17fc9fbb2cb1d985/Scape_South_Bank_mid.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4z52mFH7HO7y7Xcizfhe5P/00e4506537bf98db17fc9fbb2cb1d985/Scape_South_Bank_mid.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Australia now has three universities in the top 20 for 2024 rankings, demonstrating the improving quality of education in Australia, says Darling. </div></div> Chief executive of Scape Anouk Darling says that education is Australia’s fourth largest export, and the performance of its universities in global rankings would always make it attractive to international students.&nbsp;“Every year, our top universities are jumping in the world rankings, demonstrating the improving quality of education available to students in Australia.“[But] we're entering a period where we are already experiencing, and going to continue to have, a structural undersupply of PBSA to accommodate the rapid return of and growth in student demand.“In Brisbane, we currently have significant waiting lists and we’ve had significant rental increases, now withstanding the Brisbane City Council have increased rates upwards of 200per cent. “We have universities asking us whether we can set aside a certain number of beds for their students because their accommodation has become exhausted.&nbsp;“From a supply side, we saw a few buildings come online during Covid, but supply moving forward is heavily muted.”<h2>PBSA in context</h2> CBRE’s Pacific head of research Sameer Chopra says that the situation has come about due to multiple factors, some quantifiable and others cultural.“Volumes dropped in terms of enrolments but they’ve come shooting back. The issue is that the pace of student recovery has been a lot stronger than expected.“The other thing which is really hard to measure is a social change where, 20 or 30 years ago, [domestic] students might have been happy to stay at home and go to the local uni, but now even domestic students want their independence—they want to go out and experience life and live with their friends.“My son is going to university in Sydney next year and has applied to to stay on campus, rather than being at home—he doesn’t need to, but they are saying they want the experience, and part of that is staying on campus.”<div id="e3urN03WZemHnKAQibjSc"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5kMQs8P2BgGALvpql3gbSg/1e395b4404d43153c45d053d68cc461c/UniLodge_melbourne_CBD.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5kMQs8P2BgGALvpql3gbSg/1e395b4404d43153c45d053d68cc461c/UniLodge_melbourne_CBD.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Median rents for student studios grew from $406 per week to $530 per week between 2018-2023 in the Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney markets, according to CBRE. </div></div> Johnsson says that major changes to demographics and student preferences happened during Covid, but it was difficult to see which would stick and whether these trends would compound the problem.“We certainly saw a lot of the domestic uplift happening over the Covid period.There was much more interstate movement during Covid and moving away from home, there’s definitely a trend,” he says.“Whether that’s a lagging effect or a trend here to stay I couldn’t tell you—but there were other forces at play, including Covid in its own right.”&nbsp;Affordability is also a major issue, with private residential accommodation prices skyrocketing, making PBSA potentially a better option for students.“Accommodation [during Covid] was comparatively affordable compared to now. We didn't have the international students so rates were competitive in student accommodation. Now those international students are back and those Covid dynamics are no longer the case.”<div id="4w5Ehh476FnB0Mng0ahOLJ"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4zKDEDhrDEKjJpRt4aEBZu/87d22912a11bc7a7ec67b270d8153e3d/LinkCity_Newcastle__2_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4zKDEDhrDEKjJpRt4aEBZu/87d22912a11bc7a7ec67b270d8153e3d/LinkCity_Newcastle__2_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ New market entrant LinkCity has launched Newcastle CBD plans marking its first foray into Australian PBSA. </div></div> Student housing has absorbed a considerable amount of the returning visitors to Australia, KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley says, meaning that the increased population has not been funnelled fully into the private housing market.&nbsp;In fact, KPMG found that 20 per cent of new arrivals into the country are taking up existing capacity in “non-private homes”, mainly student accommodation but also worker accommodation.&nbsp;“We’ve kind of soaked up all the spare capacity that we did have, now it’s a case of if we want to have more then it’s up to developers to provide it themselves and work with the university sector to deliver that,” Rawnsley says.<h2>Changing landscape for the sector</h2> Student accommodation poses several problems not shared by the general residential sector, and these issues are being exacerbated by an increasingly tight rental market.Proximity to campus is key, which means there is little room to manoeuvre with location. Building layouts favour studio apartments or larger numbers of bedrooms and even co-living spaces, which means adaptive reuse of other buildings, be it offices or other residential buildings.&nbsp;Then, of course, is the ongoing problem of construction.&nbsp;“One of the biggest challenges is the higher cost of construction and where interest rates have moved to and their impacts on financing, and the combined impact of these on the feasibility of being able to develop and build more PBSA," says Scape's Anouk Darling. “We’ve seen unprecedented construction cost escalation over the Covid period, and while it’s starting to slow down a bit now, the market hasn’t yet fully caught up in terms of a correction downwards to land prices. “In Sydney there’s also the added impact that there just isn’t the same availability of sites in and around these university precincts.”<div id="5iCVDUdcWKik7EBkpJ7mr7"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6mhYPru4k8K1TL8QixRY24/8c5a9495bb3a77a17a29dab6514d2410/Student_One_Brisbane.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6mhYPru4k8K1TL8QixRY24/8c5a9495bb3a77a17a29dab6514d2410/Student_One_Brisbane.jpg"></picture><div>▲ New York alternative asset manager Blackstone spent $500 million on Student One in Brisbane, which controls three sites with around 2300 beds. </div></div> CBRE’s Sameer Chopra says that while land might be available, it can cost 25 per cent more to build on it, and this could materially impact Australia’s intake of students in future.“Housing has almost become an impediment to attracting international students.&nbsp;“If they are coming from US or Canada for instance, it’s one of those things you want to tick off earlier on, so Australia might lose out in the short term.”However, despite these challenges, student accommodation in the longer term could take the pressure off the private residential market.&nbsp;“We need more of it coming through, and a bigger scale to absorb current demand,” says Chopra.&nbsp;A sign of more positive things to come is the influx of new entrants to the market, on the developer and funding side of things.&nbsp;“Investors tend to be from overseas, it’s the way their portfolios work out. In time domestic funders will come,” says Chopra.&nbsp;“But we’re getting a lot of interest from people kicking the tyres on the sector, not just around Sydney and Melbourne but &nbsp;away from that as well. You can build out in Macquarie Park, Parramatta or Carlton for instance, and there are a lot of other places where universities exist.”&nbsp;<div id="3bbl32kPKvjhdBjujHsV6W"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7DBBt45AehS0DUl42AbSZM/ca2bf1981a889e1185d01f99a81d63b5/LinkCity_Newcastle.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7DBBt45AehS0DUl42AbSZM/ca2bf1981a889e1185d01f99a81d63b5/LinkCity_Newcastle.jpg"></picture><div>▲ LinkCity and UniLodge teamed up to launch a Newcastle CBD location as developers and operators look outside Melbourne and Sydney. </div></div> Recently, for instance, French construction firm Bouygues’s development arm Linkcity Australia entered the Australian student accommodation sector, filing plans for <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/french-bouygues-construction-targets-australian-pbsa-newcastle" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/french-bouygues-construction-targets-australian-pbsa-newcastle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a $105-million, 19-storey mixed-use tower in Newcastle’s western suburbs</a>, and Blackstone made its first investment in the Australian student housing market with the purchase of Student One in Brisbane last week.&nbsp;“But the constraining factors already mentioned will hamstring foreign investment into delivering future PBSA supply," says Scape's Anouk Darling.The downside compared to other areas of great potential, such as build-to-rent, is asset pricing.“Relative to build-to-rent, the pricing on these assets is a little bit wider,” says Chopra.&nbsp;“It’s cheaper, by almost 100 basis points. Cap rates in student accommodation are around the 2.25 level, multi-family is closer to 4 to 4.25. You’re getting it with slightly different or cheaper entry point, partly because build-to-rent is so new.”&nbsp;<h2>Land of opportunity</h2> While the outlook could appear bleak, there is reason for hope with major new projects in the works including the University of NSW’s partnership with Iglu <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/iglu-and-unsw-agree-huge-student-village-in-sydney-s-east" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/iglu-and-unsw-agree-huge-student-village-in-sydney-s-east" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to develop 1066 apartments opposite its Kensington campus</a> and Wee Hur <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/wee-hur-rounds-out-redfern-plans" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/wee-hur-rounds-out-redfern-plans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">planning 411 beds to service the University of Sydney</a> and University of Technology Sydney (UTS).In Queensland, Brookfield and Citiplan have plans for 935 beds near QUT, as well as 465 beds in Carlton close to the University of Melbourne, while Scape is planning a 465-bed PBSA project.Earlier this year Unilodge’s 46-storey Melbourne Central and its UniLodge Melbourne CBD tower <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/cedar-pacific-cbre-student-accommodation-towers-rmit-melbourne-cbd-pbsa" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/cedar-pacific-cbre-student-accommodation-towers-rmit-melbourne-cbd-pbsa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were completed by Cedar Pacific,&nbsp;</a>and Scape has plans for 10,000 apartments by 2030.&nbsp;“We hope this would contribute to alleviating pressure on the rental market,”&nbsp;says Darling.“We’re also continuing our growth in the PBSA space, both in our existing precincts as well as expanding into new growth markets, looking at opportunities near Macquarie University, Western Sydney University and Monash. “But we would like to see more regulatory and statutory support for this, similar to what build-to-rent is going through at the moment.”&nbsp;<div id="6cpVJ38QHULSF5KrmjKLlw"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/592ogTMqBUbrolVMsvLLl2/eb7be3950b84dfc912ea05d03711edfb/In-article__43_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/592ogTMqBUbrolVMsvLLl2/eb7be3950b84dfc912ea05d03711edfb/In-article__43_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The Boulevard was Perth's first PBSA site, topping out in 2018, but there has been very little sector development since. </div></div> CBRE's Chopra says there is a “tremendous” amount of room for growth, with only 100,000 student beds and 1.6 million students in Australia, and opportunities in unexpected places.&nbsp;“Perth is an interesting market, it’s very underpenetrated, there isn’t enough student accommodation there, and it has four universities with strong relationships to Singapore and Malaysia.“People tend to stay close to markets they know, you have to have construction relationships, you have to know local councils and the like, so it’s easier to focus over here.&nbsp;“But Perth has some of the lowest residential vacancies, and not a lot has been constructed in terms of real estate in the last decade, but the economy is doing really well, so there can be decent opportunities over there.”&nbsp;Clearly, there is appetite and support but this needs to translate through, says Johnsson.&nbsp;Councils are prioritising student accommodation and various state governments are trying to make it easier to make development so there's certainly plenty of goodwill in this affordable space. It’s a matter of translating that to genuine opportunities for development, that's the key issue in driving the supply side, he says.“The supply side is where our focus needs to stay.” <hr> You are currently experiencing&nbsp;The Urban Developer&nbsp;Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans">Click here to learn more.</a><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture></div>

Student accommodation soaked up returning visitor numbers post-Covid, but limited pipeline set to stunt sector growth and put pressure on private rentals...

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The General Property Trust Group has moved its application for a 43-storey Walker Street commercial development up to the Land and Environment Court.Plans for the building at 153 and 157 Walker Street were lodged in December 2022 and forwarded to the Sydney North Planning Panel.A Design Excellence Panel declared this year that the proposal was consistent with the urban context, and that the height and scale of the tower was “generally supported”.&nbsp;It had concerns the proposed setbacks were not consistent with the Development Control Plan (DCP), and the panel suggested they “may have led to an overintensification of use”.&nbsp;The capital investment value of the project would be $340 million with a gross floor area of nearly 52,000 square metres.&nbsp;A five-storey podium would include two retail tenancies, restaurants and communal terraces above five basement levels of parking with 40 levels of office floorspace with a total lettable area of 46,745 square metres.&nbsp;GPT bought the two sites for an estimated $185 million last year with the aim of building a major office tower next to Victoria Cross Station.<div id="3giUFZouzflKxqhNvHBI81"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2s0aOFQnk3wD4zBIvCmaIg/6bfa3018a13c234bc2a5cefb30c6c638/GPT_Walker_St_mid.png" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2s0aOFQnk3wD4zBIvCmaIg/6bfa3018a13c234bc2a5cefb30c6c638/GPT_Walker_St_mid.png"></picture><div>▲ The Sydney Metro rail line extension has prompted major interest in the area. </div></div>The ASX-listed group announced its 2023 interim results last month in which GPT chief executive Bob Johnston admitted that “the office leasing environment remains challenging with hybrid and remote working impacting tenant demand”.“We continue to see a flight to quality as tenants seek out workplaces and quality fitouts and amenity and this trend has supported GPT’s office leasing outcomes during the first half.”Sydney councils have been on the receiving end of complaints about blown-out lead times for development applications in recent years, echoing <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/adam-agosta-yarra-council-bamfa-swan-street-richmond" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/adam-agosta-yarra-council-bamfa-swan-street-richmond">similar sentiments from Melbourne developers,</a> some of whom have suggested that going through VCAT is a better option than a council-dependent development process.

GPT bought the Sydney site in 2022 for a major commercial development and is now shifting plans for the 43-storey tower up to the Land and Environment Court...

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Sydney-based developer Sammut Group has won approval for a $100-million beachfront apartment block in Cronulla, adding to its growing portfolio along Sydney’s southern coastline.Partnering with financier and investment manager Alceon Group, Sammut has been greenlit for the nine-storey mixed-use development with 23 luxury apartments and ground-floor retail above three levels of basement parking.To be known as Palm, the site of the development is across the road from another Sammut development of seven storeys, including five floors of commercial office space.The latest approval is on a 1300-square-metre site at 67 Gerrale Street, 110m from Cronulla Beach and about 190m from the train station.The developer picked up the site for $38 million in an off-market strata amalgamation deal with 18 separate owners in February last year.Under the approval Sammut will demolish two residential buildings—one of three storeys and the other of four—to make way for the new development.The 23 residential apartments will be across eight levels, and comprise six two-bedroom apartments, 17 of three bedrooms and a single penthouse.&nbsp;&nbsp;Four retail tenancies will take up about 310 square metres.The site has three street frontages—Gerrale Street, Beach Park Avenue and Surf Lane—for a total of 115 metres. Under amendments to the original design by PBD Architects, the building’s podium will present three storeys to Gerrale Street and five storeys to Surf Lane.<div><div id="2MBjDvIOBpgZjLEOAdXcNy"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/B9RfGQ9Vk5nahcBoMWved/3ab56c4728dc4564face9e58db27277d/Sammut_Cronulla_2_Mid_.jpg" alt="An artist's render of the Sammut Group’s latest Cronulla development approval." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/B9RfGQ9Vk5nahcBoMWved/3ab56c4728dc4564face9e58db27277d/Sammut_Cronulla_2_Mid_.jpg"></picture><div>▲ A render of the Sammut Group’s latest Cronulla development approval. </div>Sammut Group’s chief operating officer Julian Sammut said the development was an opportunity to enliven that laneway connecting the Cronulla station with South Cronulla beach. </div></div>“It will also inject a new vibrancy and vitality into the southern extremity of Cronulla Mall,” Sammut said.“Residents of Palm will be in the heart of Cronulla and within walking distance to everything that makes Cronulla a premium lifestyle location; the beach, the café culture, the fine dining.”Sammut Group’s latest development is part of the developer’s growing presence within Sutherland Shire Council, with a pipeline of about $835 million in the neighbourhood, including a transformational&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sammut-cronulla-mixed-use-approved" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sammut-cronulla-mixed-use-approved">$350-million mixed-use urban renewal project&nbsp;</a>on a 5225-sq-m amalgamated site at 3-23 Kingsway.Gerrale Street will be the fourth project between Sammut and Alceon—with three projects now in Cronulla and another on the Gold Coast.Pre-sales for the development will start this month.

Sydney-based developer Sammut Group has won approval for a $100 million beachfront apartment block in Cronulla, adding to a growing portfolio along Sydney’s southern coastline. 

NEW SOUTH WALES