This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
NEARLY 350 hectares of land earmarked for an industrial, health and shopping centre precinct next to western Sydney’s future airport has sold for $500 million to a new entity.
Sydney property clan the Medich family were the vendors of the Badgerys Creek site, securing a sale three years after entering into an initial transaction agreement with Chinese property billionaire Shen Yuxing – also known as Tin Ching Shum – who is the majority shareholder of ASX-listed developer Boyuan Holdings.
Boyuan proposed the Northern Gateway master planned project for the 344 hectare site, which it said would deliver 38,000 jobs and $14.3 billion to the region’s economy, and was to be developed by a consortium that included Western Sydney University, Scentre Group, and surgeon Charlie Teo.
However, the acquisition was never completed, and the property has been sold and settled to a new owner operating as Roberts Jones Funds Management. Executives at Roberts Jones Funds have reportedly worked at Boyuan in the past, and that Boyuan would remain involved in future plans for the site.
Boyuan has stated to media that it has been appointed as development agents for the project by lead developer of the site, Roberts Jones Development Pty Ltd.
Ron Medich and his brother Roy were owners of the Elizabeth Drive site through Roy Medich Properties, alongside CSPA Properties. Ron Medich was a former director and remains a shareholder of CSPA Properties, and is currently serving a 39-year jail term for the contract murder of his former business partner Michael McGurk.
The brothers had acquired the land from the CSIRO in 1996 for $3.5 million. The new owners reportedly also bought a 73 hectare parcel of land in nearby Bringelly for $77 million.
The $5.6 billion Nancy Bird Walton Airport is set to be operational in 2026 and form the basis of an 11,000 hectare economic and logistics Aerotropolis hub that will support more than 200,000 jobs over 20 years. Freight and engineering, pharmaceuticals, food manufacturing, space tech and defence, and agribusiness industries will be targeted.
The CSIRO will have a new base in the region, while commitments have been made by Northrop Grumman, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.
Land is becoming increasingly sought after in the region as its development takes shape. The Barba and Putrino families picked up four hectares of land for $30 million in October as a new home for their food businesses and a future industrial development, marking the first property in the Aerotropolis to have been sold since the NSW government gazetted the rezoning of five priority precincts to provide for employment, residential and environmental uses as part of the state’s planning acceleration program.
CSR furthered its selldown of its PGH Bricks manufacturing facility at Horsley Park, netting $84.3 million for an 8.6 hectare site. The 160 year old company has now sold 39 hectares in the area for about $285 million as it optimises its network footprint. Some 20.8 hectares was sold to Asian logistics giant ESR late last year, which will become a distribution park with a total GFA of circa 110,000 sqm. Frasers Property acquired the first tranche, spanning 50 hectares, for $58 million more than two years ago.
Expressions of interest have just closed for one the last available raw parcels in a future industrial precinct within the Aerotropolis region, listed with hopes of up to $80 million after it was rezoned in the middle of last year.
Existing transport corridors around the area include the M7 and M4 Motorways, while the New South Wales state government has announced locations for the new train stations that include one at Aerotropolis and two at the airport itself.
A number of landowners in the area are still awaiting advice from the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment as to compulsory acquisitions of land by government agencies.
