Sydney's booming apartment market has snared a couple of billion-dollar developers with apartment tsar Harry Triguboff planning an ambitious 900-plus unit complex in Rosebery while Toga is eyeing a Harbourfront site for a luxurious unit and serviced apartment complex.
Meriton yesterday forked out an aggressive $190 million to buy parallel sites in Rosebery from Dexus Property Group, and Mr Triguboff said it was the highest price paid for a site in the 50-year history of the private company.
The previous highest price was $145m for a land parcel in Sydney’s inner western Pagewood last year, where Meriton plans to build 2000 units. Mr Triguboff said the Rosebery project would be worth about $1 billion on completion, but he denied that the high price was a milestone for the group.
“I look upon the sales price of the whole project, so what I pay for land is only a small portion of what I get for it,” Mr Triguboff said.
“This is only one part of it and therefore it’s of low importance.”
So confident is Meriton of Sydney’s apartment market that earlier this week it tendered for a prime site from Parramatta City Council that could support about 1000 apartments, but the company missed out to a Shanghai-based buyer who offered more than $120m.
Despite a busy 18 months for Meriton, Mr Triguboff said that the group would not slow down in its hunt for sites.
“To buy land is not difficult — to build is more difficult,” Mr Triguboff said.
“The reason we are buying more land is because the sales are very buoyant, and more importantly our progress in the actual building (of apartment projects) is very good,” he said.
The 4.2 hectare Rosebery site, in Sydney’s inner southwest, will also include a childcare centre.
The deal was brokered by Meriton acquisitions manager Angelo Mantsis, and JLL’s Michael Fenton, Sam Brewer and Blair Peterken.
Meanwhile, cashed-up serviced apartment operator Toga is believed to have paid $58m for a prominent waterfront site fronting 100-102 Elliott Street, Balmain in Sydney’s inner west. Sold by the Roche Group, the trophy Sydney Harbour front site has development approval for 102 residential apartments, 19 residential serviced apartments and 1425sq m of commercial and retail area. The selling agents were Knight Frank’s Dominic Ong and Peter Krieg, who declined to comment.
Toga’s head of construction and development, Fabrizio Perilli, did not return The Australian’s calls yesterday.