Gurner, Qualitas snap up Parramatta apartment site
Melbourne based Gurner and Qualitas have teamed to acquire another development site, this time at Parramatta.
The 2050 square metre block, 12 Hassall Street, is understood to be costing close to $70 million from developer Jean Nassif’s Toplace.
It came permit-ready for a 61 storey tower with 385 apartments and a four level podium with c4000 square metres of office and retail space.
With an end value of c$450m, the proposed skyscraper would also contain an activated rooftop.
The acquisition comes nine months since the pair bought into the Jam Factory shopping centre in Melbourne’s trendy South Yarra.
Costing a speculated $75m from Newmark Capital, which retains an interest, that property is earmarked for a $1.5 billion mixed-use redevelopment with up to 600 apartments.
12 Hassall Street
Toplace paid $31m for 12 Hassall Street in 2015, unveiling the redevelopment proposal two years later.
Part of the holding contains the former Parramatta Police-Citizens Youth Club building (story continues below).
“We are excited to announce this strategic acquisition as the first of many more to come as we look forward to significantly grow our portfolio in Sydney and wider New South Wales, across both our Build to Sell and Build to Rent platforms,” Mr Gurner said.
“For a long time the development fundamentals in Sydney didn’t stack up against Melbourne and Brisbane but looking ahead, Sydney will be a key strategic focus for us in the coming years as the environment is now much more conducive to development sites that fit our model,” he added.
“We set out about 12 months ago to align ourselves with the Sydney market and within a short period…we’ve established an office, acquired our first major site and have a number of other opportunities in our sights,” according to the developer.
“In terms of the project, at 61 levels, we want to create a new icon for Parramatta, bringing a new level of luxury, service and design to the precinct along with a vibrant hospitality and wellness precinct at the ground floor.
“Parramatta really is an incredible story of transformation into Sydney’s second city, and we are excited to be playing a role in its continued evolution”.
The land sale comes two months since Mr Nassif sold Goodman Group an industrial investment at Clyde – about four kilometres from Parramatta – for $140m.
That deal reflected a major windfall for Toplace which paid GPT $65m in 2015.
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