Sydney’s west set for $110m hotel and apartment boom
Sydney’s growth corridor in the west, near the new airport, is set for a $110 million hotel and apartment development called The Grand Liverpool, backed by businessman and former politician Dr John Hewson and the newly formed funds management and investment group he chairs, Joseph Banks Property Fund.
The Grand Liverpool development, located at 402 Macquarie Street, Liverpool, is a joint venture with developer Ian Jordan and will comprise 72 apartments and 192 rooms in a four-star hotel. It is forecast to open in 2024 and will be a beneficiary of the Badgerys Creek airport.
It comes as the tourism sector returns to life with an influx of overseas and domestic travellers, which has resulted in a swathe of new hotel openings. The demand for apartments in the west has also prompted new projects.
Joseph Banks Property Fund will arrange the finance and take an equity position in the development – a model it plans to deploy across a range of proposed mixed-use developments, each worth up to $200 million along the eastern seaboard.
Ross McDowall, the co-founder of Joseph Banks Property Group, said the group conducted due diligence for more than 20 projects before settling on The Grand Liverpool.
McDowall said it is the first project in what he says is “a unique model to get developments off the ground, without dealing with the many traditional obstacles like pre-sales”.
“I co-founded Joseph Banks as our model is distinct from the now overcrowded non-bank loans market, where there are too many mortgage providers and not enough viable projects providing adequate returns to investors,” Lambrinos said.
“Through our model we take a lot of the completion and return risk out of the equation by controlling projects through holding substantial equity and project management positions.”
The Grand Liverpool will be part of the vibrant residential and hospitality sector in Liverpool – Sydney’s third-largest CBD – with population and jobs growth outpacing the rest of the city.
“The biggest influence on the fast-growing Liverpool area will be the $5.3 billion investment in Sydney’s second airport, with Liverpool located just 17 kilometres away and on the main train link to the city,” McDowall said.
The Grand Liverpool’s apartments will feature studies, co-working spaces and open-plan living areas. Residents will have exclusive access to a gym, private gardens and rooftop terrace with panoramic views of western Sydney.
Pro-invest is another hotel development group on the expansion trail, with the official opening next week of its Kimpton Hotel, formerly the Primus, in Sydney.
It has also purchased the Campbell5 Hotel in Canberra, marking the first asset purchase under its third discretionary investment fund (Fund III).
Located in the heart of Canberra’s defence precinct, the new hotel will be known as the Sebel Canberra Campbell, becoming Pro-invest’s second Sebel-branded hotel in Canberra and its 15th hotel overall in Australia.
Pro-invest’s Fund III was launched last year for local and offshore investors and is targeting a final close of $500 million for the fund by the end of 2022.
Pro-invest chief executive Jan Smits said the group was “delighted to have completed Campbell5 as the first deal under its new fund, and to have secured Sebel as an operating partner”.
Intercontinental Hotel Group has also announced a new Crowne Plaza brand will be landing in NSW’s picturesque south coast in 2025.
The new-build contemporary hotel, which will be located at Shell Cove Marina, is part of a $1.5 billion master-planned coastal residential, commercial and tourist project for Shellharbour.
