Perifa’s Ex-Balmain Leagues Plan Clears Final Hurdle

Two months after acquiring the Balmain League Club redevelopment from Heworth Group, Perifa has been greenlit to expand the project. 

Perifa and investment partner Mitsubishi Estate Asia took control of the project, dubbed Rozelle Village, in March.

Heworth had submitted new proposals to upscale the existing plans in October of 2024, taking advantage of reforms introduced by the NSW Government in December, 2023, that allowed increased heights and floor space ratio for the provision of affordable housing.

Perifa has now been greenlit to increase the apartments in the project by 75, 59 of which are affordable, to 227 across built forms of up to 16 storeys.

Heworth Group was originally approved to develop up to 12 storeys.

Perifa said the approval was a “major milestone” for the development, which will comprise retail, hospitality and community offerings, along with public spaces and a new home for the suburb’s community club.

Designed by Studio.SC, with interiors by SJB and landscaping by Arcadia, the precinct will include apartments of one, two and three bedrooms as well as penthouses, plus a 1444sq m public plaza, and activated laneways connecting Victoria Road and Darling Street.

▲ A rendering of the Rozelle Village development.

Perifa co-founder and managing director Fabrizio Perilli said the approval was “a critical step”. 

“It’s so important that mixed-use projects like these are approved in good time, to provide the people of Sydney with the quality housing they so desperately need and with open, community spaces and well-curated retail amenity for everyone to enjoy,” he said.

Led by Versatile Construction—like Perifa, a part of the Versatile group— demolition is expected to be completed in May, and main building works are expected to begin in the third quarter of this year. Completion is planned for 2028.

▲ The Rozelle Village project will now reach up to 16 storeys.

The site has been vacant since 2010 but Heworth Group faced considerable trials and tribulations getting the project over the line. 

Announcing the latest approval, NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said the site was an eyesore, and that government reforms “mean the site, which previously provided no affordable housing, will now deliver 200-plus new apartments, including almost 60 much-needed affordable homes”.

While Heworth had owned the site since 2018, progress was hindered when it became subject to a proposed compulsory acquisition by Transport for NSW. 

When this did not eventuate, Heworth took that state agency to the NSW Land and Environment Court, seeking $100 million in compensation for the delay to the development. 

Proceedings had been so sluggish, Heworth said, that it was considering commencing civil proceedings in the Supreme Court in parallel with the LEC litigation.