This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
SYDNEY’S first CBD build-to-rent development has been given the green light, with Oxford Properties Group and local partner Investa set to deliver a 39 storey building with 234 apartments above the entrance of the Pitt Street Metro train station.
The residential development above the station’s south entrance is scheduled to begin later this year, and due to be completed in line with metro services in 2024. Its consortium partners, CPB Contractors commenced construction on the metro station in December.
Oxford anticipates that around 350 jobs will be created through the construction over a 24-month period. Oxford’s wider development plans for the Sydney site also include a 39-storey office building at the Pitt Street station’s northern entrance.
A development application for the south tower was lodged in June, shortly after Mirvac topped out its Sydney Olympic Park build-to-rent project in the west.
Located on the corner of Pitt and Bathurst streets, the tower will include on-site amenities including a wellness floor, rooftop terrace and adjoining communal space, an entire floor dedicated to work-from-home spaces, a social lounge and up to 682 sqm of retail. It is targeting a 5 Star Green Star rating, with 30% Basix energy targets and 40% water targets.
“The residential market in Australia has been rapidly evolving in recent years, particularly in cities like Sydney where housing affordability is a persistent issue,” Alec Harper, head of Australia at Oxford Properties said.
The emerging build to rent sector offers a more a customer focussed and flexible solution, he said.
“We are excited to be making progress on a development which will deliver those benefits, as well as best-in-class amenity and proximity to the CBD, public transport and all that the precinct has to offer.”
In a bid to spur on the sector, the NSW government in February finalised changes to planning and tax policies for developments that include introducing a minimum 50% discount on land tax and exemption on foreign investor surcharges.
The Pitt Street development is Oxford’s first in its broader build-to-rent strategy in Australia, which Harper said will focus on the core markets if Sydney and Melbourne and is targeting more than 5,000 units over the next 10 years.
Oxford’s build-to-rent pipeline in Australia currently includes approximately 1,000 units, following the acquisition of a Melbourne site in the western suburb of Footscray for a $450 million project, shortly after the Victorian government announced tax breaks for the fledgling sector.
Major institutional players such as Mirvac are looking to add to their build-to-rent pipeline, and global player Greystar Real Estate Partners has raised $1.3 billion to invest in Australia’s fledgling sector with a focus on Sydney and Melbourne.
