A $450 million project to create a luxury apartment tower overlooking Sydney’s Hyde Park has been given the green light.
Developer Central Element and equity partner MaxCap Group have received approval for their development application from the City of Sydney. The former Hyde Park Inn will be transformed and rebadged as 271 Elizabeth Street.
Under the approved plans, 262-266 Castlereagh Street and 271-279 Elizabeth Street will be amalgamated. Central Element, co-owned by McGrath director Shane Smollen, bought the Hyde Park Inn on Elizabeth Street and a small office building behind it for $95 million from RSL NSW in December 2020.
The new mixed-use, 55-metre apartment tower will be designed by architects Murcutt Candalepas and comprise 16 storeys, of which 42 apartments will be across 14 floors. There will also be ground-floor retail and five basement levels for 27 parking spaces and 58 bicycle parking spots and end-of-trip facilities.
It is the second collaboration between Central Element and MaxCap Group; they launched the Ethos development in Chatswood in 2022.
Central Element has a multibillion-dollar portfolio of residential and lifestyle precincts, and has delivered over 500 apartments in Sydney. Together with Smollen, the father-and-son team Wayne and Nathan Chivas run the business.
MaxCap is an Australian and New Zealand commercial real estate investment manager with more than $16.6 billion of Australian commercial property debt and equity investments across more than 650 investments, and funds under management projected at $7 billion.
It was founded by Brae Sokolski and Wayne Lasky with property expert Robert Hattersley as head of capital.
Behind the design of the new tower are long-time friends and colleagues Glenn Murcutt and Angelo Candalepas, who plan to use the views of the park and harbour to full effect.
Nathan Chivas said the developers would honour the building’s heritage and location in the “heart of the Hyde Park” precinct.
In the east, Bondi Junction is set for a $140 million luxury office tower, the first to be built in more than a decade. Sitting at 88 Ebley Street, the 4000-square-metre development is offering high-end commercial offices that would not look out of place in nearby Double Bay.
Known as Verdical Bondi Junction, the tower will be developed by Moshav Financial, which has commissioned Luigi Rosselli as the designer of the seven-storey site, and will offer “superior amenity, dedicated on-site parking, and far more convenient transport links for commuters”.
Co-listing agents Jake Fahd from TRG Commercial and Victor Negrine from Richardson & Wrench Commercial – Eastern Suburbs say interest is coming from large national companies and medical and medical cosmetics industries.
“Verdical will bring to life the southern precinct of Bondi Junction, with the ultimate convenience of being adjacent to Westfield shopping centre, with a short walk to the bus and rail interchange,” Negrine said.
Fahd said that over the past couple of years some business owners had been looking to move their offices from the city to suburban locations.
“We think that Verdical is going to reinvigorate the suburban office market, and we will see the continued shift of higher-calibre tenants moving to more suburban offices to reduce commute times and allow for more flexible working environments,” Fahd said.
The project is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter next year.