This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
PROLIFIC developer Tim Gurner has revised plans for his luxe Sydney Harbour project at 189 Kent Street, tailoring the $800 million dual towers towards owner occupiers and increasing its health and wellness offering.
The plans “take all the learnings” from its high-end Saint Moritz and Hawksburn Place projects in Melbourne, Gurner said, and include more three-bedroom residences and a reduction in apartments from 125 to 91.
Gurner snapped up the 1,195 sqm site adjoining the Barangaroo precinct in the middle of last year. It is currently occupied by a 1960s office tower.
Gurner said the “crown jewel” of the new scheme will be a 400 sqm double-level penthouse that will afford views across Sydney Harbour.
“The building is now fully focused on owner occupiers, with large two, three and four-bedroom options that are almost all full-floor residences, with direct access lifts, incredible views and very high security.
Most of the three and four-bedroom residences will be full-floor apartments of circa 250 sqm, with outdoor terraces, affording panoramic views of the CBD skyline and across Sydney Harbour.
“We know the appetite is there for larger floorplans, particularly if they’re full-level, for wealthy downsizers and right-sizers, high net worth individuals and international buyers, who are flooding back into the Australian market,” Gurner said.
“We get many enquiries from Sydney residents wanting us to bring the prestige, amenity and service of Saint Moritz to Sydney, and that is exactly what we will be doing.”
The $540 million Saint Moritz project in St Kilda set new sales benchmarks, namely former Domain boss Antony Catalano’s $30 million penthouse acquisition.
At the ground floor, 189 Kent Street will feature a new restaurant and bar, and large lobbies for residents. This will come with resident-focused services including a concierge, butler, prestige car share, and on-site health and wellness practitioners.
“Health and wellness will remain a key focus for us as a business, and this will be reflected in the design for the buildings. We want our residents to feel like they can live their best lives, with all the well-being facilities and practitioners they need to achieve holistic wellness,” Gurner said.
In recent weeks Gurner and Liberman family-backed City Harbour unveiled plans for a “futuristic wellness and anti-ageing utopia” within their $1.7 billion Docklands project in Melbourne.
“At Elysium Fields, residents will have access to advanced anti-ageing protocols and equipment like cryotherapy, IV infusions, dry and infrared sauna, red light therapy, grounding and PEMF beds, alongside access to visit the Elysian Reverse Ageing Medical Clinic that will provide medical-grade treatments including MRIs, DEXA scans, brain scans, blood testing and personalised health plans,” Gurner said.
Also in March, Gurner lobbed plans for an $800 million luxury apartment tower on Melbourne’s St Kilda Road, designed by the architects that drew up One World Trade Center in New York and Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.
