Central Element Plots Office-to-Homes Project at Greenwich

Central Element is celebrating a double win after securing a $17-million Lower North Shore site for a retirement community on the back of setting suburb sales record with one of its penthouses at Coogee. 

The Sydney developer has acquired an office building site at Greenwich and plans to develop a mixed-use seniors living project on the site.

It intends to submit a development application to the Lane Cove Council to develop the site into an eight-storey building comprising two and three-bedroom apartments. 

“We recognised the opportunity this Greenwich site presented for a world-class mixed-use seniors living development,” Central Element managing director Nathan Chivas said in a statement.

“Our intention is to create an environment for those over 60 that is hyper-focused on ageing well and enjoying their third phase of life.”

▲ The plans, to be submitted by July, 2024, offer communal space and a rooftop bar with harbour views as well as street-level retail.

The deal for the 1232sq m site at 126 Pacific Highway, near St Leonards Railway Station, Crows Nest Metro Station and Royal North Shore Hospital, was negotiated by Tom Appleby, Steam Leung and Joseph Lin of Colliers.

Colliers director of Sydney North sales Tom Appleby said that given the vacancy rates in ageing office middle market assets, “a diverse range of savvy buyers are increasingly assessing opportunities through an alternate lens”. 

“Central Element appreciated the adaptive-use potential in line with the favourable underlying planning controls, the property’s panoramic Sydney Harbour views enjoyed from its elevated ‘island’ site positioning and its proximity to the North Shore’s pre-eminent health precinct,” Appleby said.

If approved, construction would begin in 2026.

▲ Central Element’s plans for Ballamac House mark the site’s latest reincarnation, having previously been  private home, hotel and infirmary.

Record penthouse sale at Ballamac House

The acquisition was the second celebration for Central Element: its Ballamac House development set a suburb record when its three-bedroom penthouse sold for $20 million prior to the project launch.

The 241sq m penthouse also has 77sq m of external area to give a combined return of nearly $90,000 a square metre.

The previous record in the Eastern suburb was $13.1 million for a four-bedroom house at Wolseley Road. 

Central Element’s proposal for the historic site, which was established by Charles Moore in 1860, were approved in August.

It will transform the site into eight three-bedroom oceanfront apartments across two buildings at Arcadia Street, delivering one new building and restoring the original Colonial-era home.

Central Element has made a major play in luxury residential in recent months, dropping $70-million hotel plans in favour of residential and filing plans for premium Bondi apartments.