Call Us +961 7669 1784

Stockland dumps offices for apartment towers

Stockland dumps offices for apartment towers

Property developer Stockland is weighing up a major push into apartments on Sydney’s north shore, seeking to drop its plans for North Sydney’s tallest office building and replace it with a luxury unit project.

Although the company’s hopes of being fast-tracked by NSW’s Housing Development Authority were dashed, its move comes amid a wave of such proposals in the area from developers ranging from Aqualand, Asian-backed Freecity and even financial services giant Zurich.

The listed Stockland went to the HDA seeking permission to convert the flagship Affinity Place office project into apartments. Despite the switch being rejected, the company is continuing to assess options for the site, particularly as large office projects remain tough to get off the ground.

The property heavyweight had tried to find a capital partner on its planned $1.5bn office tower in North Sydney in 2023. But it did not finder a taker.

Stockland’s site at 110-122 Walker Street is one of the best in the area, and the development is still slated to become North Sydney’s tallest tower. The office complex was to span 59,000sq m of office and retail space. But the views of Sydney Harbour across to the CBD could make it far more lucrative as a residential project.

The company has signalled that it will look to push further into residential, across areas including traditional housing, estates, land lease and build-to-rent. But the focus of the North Sydney proposal was traditional apartments.