Prominent Sydney hotel owner and developer, Iris Group, has listed a key development site in the heart of Parramatta’s Gateway precinct.
Prominent Sydney hotel owner and developer, Iris Group, has listed a key development site in the heart of Parramatta’s Gateway precinct, as Sydney’s western suburban jewel surges on the back of record population growth and a major new construction cycle.
Now the sixth largest CBD in Australia and with a population approaching a quarter of a million, the newly proclaimed City of Parramatta is in the midst of a massive building boom including one of Australia’s largest urban transformation projects in Parramatta Square.
The timing of the Iris listing could not be better, according to Savills Director Residential Site Sales, Neil Cooke, who is marketing the property with colleague Stuart Cox in conjunction with Khoury & Partners’ Anthony Khoury, George Khoury and Jon Race.
“The State Government has underlined the importance of Parramatta in no uncertain terms with, among other things, its $10 billion infrastructure investment for Parramatta and Western Sydney, including the new $1 billion Light Rail network.
“What that means for Iris Group’s Crown Hotel site at 295-309 Church Street is the confidence that State Government backing provides to developers to proceed with the sort of ambitious and exciting projects that sites such as this can deliver to a City in the midst of an incredible growth phase,” Mr Cooke said.
The 1,082 square metre site, with 35 metres frontage to Church Street and 26 metres to Phillip Lane, is located in a core CBD Gateway position, in the heart of Parramatta’s vibrant ‘Eat Street’ restaurant, arts and entertainment precinct and adjacent to the proposed $250 million Riverside tower development on the Parramatta River and part of an $8 billion Parramatta construction pipeline.
Eat Street – the northern end of Church Street – has quickly developed a reputation for its culturally eclectic array of al fresco restaurants and cafes which has attracted diners from all over Sydney and made the strip the busiest pedestrian mall precinct in Parramatta.
The B4 Mixed Use zoning allows for a variety of uses including commercial premises, a luxury hotel, residential tower or a combination of these uses. Parramatta City Council recently received Gateway Approval for an increase in FSR to 10:1 with a height limit to part 12 metres and part 150 metres.
According to Anthony Khoury, a redevelopment of the site with a potential gross floor area of circa 12,000 square metres (STCA), in accordance with the Gateway Approval, would offer apartment dwellers views over Parramatta River within walking distance of Westfield Parramatta and the Parramatta bus/rail interchange and ferry terminal.
Mr Khoury declined to put a price on the property instead citing the recent sales of 135 George Street (cnr Harris Street) and the Thompson Ford site, which are now earmarked for mixed use/residential developments, as evidence of the very strong demand for mixed use/residential development sites.
George Street – the Albion Hotel site on 3,135 square metres - sold in September this year for $60 million through Khoury & Partners with a mixed use, 26,000 square metre planning proposal, while residential developer, Dyldam paid $70 million for the nearby 3,300 square metre Thompson Ford site (corner Church Street and Great Western Highway).
“The market for mixed use and or/residential development sites is white hot and so we’re expecting a very strong reaction from both local and off-shore interests. Given recent price history, it is going to be very difficult to put a price on what is essentially an exceptional property with enormous development upside,” Mr Khoury said.
The property will be sold by Expressions of Interest closing at 3pm, Tuesday 6 December.
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