James Packer behind $110m deal for Surry Hills heritage building
Billionaire former casino mogul James Packer has backed developer Time & Place’s $110 million acquisition of a historical warehouse site in Sydney’s Surry Hills that it plans to transform into half a billion dollars’ worth of luxury apartments.
Marlborough House, the former David Jones warehouse at 47-97 Marlborough Street, was acquired by Time & Place in partnership with investment firm NPACT, founded and led by former Crown Resorts executive director Todd Nisbet.
Company records show NPACT is a wholly owned subsidiary of Victoria Fields, which is owned by the Colorado-based Mr Packer.
It is one of a number of Time & Place developments Mr Packer has backed via NPACT Capital, including a luxury apartment project in Potts Point.
NPACT is also backing residential projects by Melbourne developer Orchard Piper, including in Toorak.
It is the first time in more than 50 years that the 3413-square-metre Marlborough House site has changed hands. It was last purchased in 1972 by Orcades Investments, a private company whose shareholders include lawyer Katherine Grinberg, the former in-house counsel at Stockland and a director at Australia’s oldest chamber music group, Musica Viva.
JLL’s James Aroney and The Agency’s Michael Laing brokered the sale.
The two Chicagoesque-style buildings were constructed between 1914 and 1934 as the first production warehouse for David Jones, after the department store chain began to manufacture its own clothing, furniture, luggage and homewares.
One of the largest factories built for a department store at the time of its construction, and one of it most advanced (features include large banks of windows for maximising natural light and ventilation, and the use of reinforced concrete), it was converted in about the 1970s into offices and creative studios.
Time & Place hopes to redevelop Marlborough House into 150 apartments, including 26 affordable dwellings, with an end value of $400 million to $500 million.
Plans will be submitted for approval to the NSW government’s state significant development pathway in the coming days, after which a detailed design competition will commence to come up with a finalised design.
Time & Place founder Tim Price said: “Our team is currently working through a planning application that takes into consideration and indeed celebrates the existing heritage overlay of Marlborough House through adaptive reuse of the existing building, alongside the addition of a new adjoining development that sits within the local planning controls.
“Surrounded by the very best of Sydney’s cafes, bars and nightlife, the fabric of this locale is one we are excited to work within to transform the site into a contemporary residential enclave.”
Should all go to plan, demolition would commence in 2027, with the project due to be completed in 2029, a spokeswoman said.
Surry Hills, a former industrial suburb on the fringe of the Sydney CBD, is the focus of several new developments, including Surry Hills Village by the Rich Lister Vidor family’s Toga Group.
