This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE latest stage of the NSW government’s Millers Point program has seen the state’s first residential apartment building sell under the hammer for $10.8 million.
Known as the Stevens Building, the architecturally significant block of 11 apartments at 73 Windmill Street sold immediately after the 74-80a High Street terrace duplexes nearby were successfully auctioned for $9.8 million.
Both are part of the historic Millers Point Conservation Area and were offered as part of Property NSW’s Millers Point Sales program on behalf of Family and Community Services, which has now yielded more than $500 million from the sale of state-owned properties in Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks that will be put forward to new social housing projects.
The latest transactions came within a week of the State Government controversially confirming it would take the striking stepped brutalist Sirius building at The Rocks to the market with expectation of $100 million.
It comprises a 79-apartment building of 11 tapered stories on a 3,647 sqm site that has been used for public housing since 1980.The State Government had just rejected a Heritage Council recommendation it be put on the heritage register.
Earlier this month, Property NSW collected another $22.89 million for the program from the sale of seven terraces, including a circa-1826 Colonical Georgian terrace at 46-48 Argyle Place for $6.3 million, and a block of four two-bedroom apartments at 70-72 High Street for $5.10 million. In August it completed the divestment of 13-loft style apartments along nearby Gloucester Street for a combined $21.9 million.
The NSW Government owned 293 properties throughout the designated program area when it was announced in 2014, with 214 of those heritage listed.
More than 1,000 social housing dwellings have been completed or are under construction out of the expected 1,500 to be yielded from the program. They will be positioned across Sydney suburbs including Liverpool, Parramatta, Sutherland and Fairfield, as well as the Illawarra and the state’s North Coast.
Savills agents David Hickey, Robert Lowe and Richard Shalhoub, in conjunction with Sydney Sotheby’s Realty, marketed the Windmill Street and High Street properties, which were auctioned by David Scholes of Auctionworks.
The Stevens Building was designed by architect Joseph Alexander Kethal and features nine one-bedroom and two two-bedroom apartments with views of Sydney Harbour Bridge, North Sydney, Observatory Hill and Garrison Church, on a 1,802.2 sqm site.
Shalhoub said at the beginning of the sales campaign there is potential to transform the Stevens Building into luxurious residences.
“There is actually tremendous scope to restore and transform both assets which are zoned as R1 General Residential, which will provide housing needs for the community and maintain the existing land use pattern of predominately residential use and we expect interest from both local and offshore investors and developers,” he said.
The 74-80a High Street property has eight two-bedroom period terrace duplexes divided into two blocks, each of four apartments, on a 539.94 sqm island site.
The agents also said there is also “vast potential” to restore and transform the apartments to their original conditions, subject to Conservation Management Plan.
It was revealed in September that the current NSW government has a property sales pipeline of more than $1 billion, and would take its return from the divestment of 20,000 properties since taking office in 2011 to more than $10 billion.
Social housing sites have accounted for more than 4,000 of those – including more than 200 in Millers Point, while 384 Department of Education properties have also been sold.
Australian Property Journal
