Freecity wins Australian first with student tower
Freecity has secured an Australian first for a 528-unit student accommodation project, achieving a WELL for Residential pre-certification.
The 20-level complex is under construction at 169-171 Herring Road, Macquarie Park – former low-rise apartments blocks on 2568 square metres which it bought in 2023.
Branded The Herring, completion is scheduled early next year.
The building will also be Australia’s tallest volumetric modular construction project.
The construction method involves manufacturing fully fitted-out apartments off-site before transporting them to the site and installing them as complete modules.
The project is also targeting a 5-star Green Star Buildings rating.
Also today, we are reporting Wesfarmers-backed Built Living secured up to $120m funding to build an ‘apartment factory’ in Perth.
5-star Green Star Building rating targeted
The WELL precertification follows a preliminary design review by the International WELL Building Institute, which launched its residential program in 2024.
Freecity will pursue final certification after construction, which will require a further independent review.
The framework assesses buildings across areas including air, water, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mental wellbeing and community.
Freecity associate development director Benjamin Brown said the precertification was an early marker of the standard being applied to the project.
“The next step is final certification once the building is complete and we’ll keep working towards that goal,” he said (continues below).
It has appointed Cox Architecture to design the development,
Herring Rd is about 100 metres from Macquarie University, Macquarie Park Metro station and Macquarie Shopping Centre.
Freecity ESG and innovation lead Filomena Beshara said the WELL rating was focused on the student experience.
The university has about 44,000 students, while on-campus accommodation is consistently at capacity.
“It means putting them at the centre of every design decision, from layouts to material selection to operational requirements,” she added.
Freecity builds portfolio
The Macquarie Park project is one of three PBSA developments Freecity has under construction in Sydney.
Those projects, in Forest Lodge and Rockdale, will add 235 units.
The developer is also planning a 60-plus-level build-to-rent tower at Parramatta which is expected to be the world’s largest volumetric modular building, along with three Rouse Hill residential towers providing another 548 rental homes.
Freecity has more than $7 billion of development projects and a pipeline exceeding 6000 units across Sydney’s major urban renewal precincts.
Macquarie Park is about 15km north-west of Sydney’s CBD.
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