Central Sydney Property Pty Ltd, a joint venture between developer Billbergia Group and Metrics Credit Partners, has finalised its acquisition of a 6,000-square-metre site in Sydney’s CBD from offshore developer Han’s Holding Group. Plans have been revealed for a city-shaping scheme to transform the amalgamated site into a cutting-edge mixed-use development, complete with luxury residences, a high-end hotel, retail spaces and an enhanced public domain. 

The site is one of the largest in the CBD and unlocks a rare opportunity to reshape Midtown into a world-class city precinct. Spanning eight individual sites consolidated between 2015 and 2019, the site comprises 245-247 and 249-253 Castlereagh Street, 324-330, 332-336 and 338-348 Pitt Street, and 126 Liverpool Street.

It will now be transformed into two 80-storey towers and deliver a combined total of around 600 luxury residences and premium hotel accommodation above a podium building complete with a ground-floor civic plaza and new retail space. The towers will be amongst the tallest in the Sydney skyline once complete.

Pedestrian access to the precinct will be enhanced via new laneways connecting Pitt, Liverpool and Castlereagh Streets. The laneways will lead to a new civic square, set to breathe new life into the precinct with outdoor seating, landscaping and integrated public art. 

Metrics Credit Partners and Billbergia will leverage their joint expertise in asset management and property development to deliver the landmark project. As a leading non-bank lender and alternative asset manager, Metrics Credit Partners holds some $22 billion in assets under management, specialising in fixed income, private credit, equity and capital markets.

It represents Billbergia’s first foray in the Sydney CBD and comes on the back of 88 Walker, its award-winning mixed-use project in North Sydney, delivered in partnership with Metrics. 

Prolific developer Billbergia has earned a reputation for creating thriving communities, with a focus on transport-oriented development and urban regeneration. Its projects have revitalised Wentworth Point and the Rhodes peninsula from underutilised industrial land into connected, liveable urban villages. 

“Our vision will transform this underutilised city block into a cutting-edge urban community with luxury residences supported by premium amenity, quality public domain and active placemaking. This mixed-use development is Billbergia’s first in the CBD and heralds the renewal of the Midtown district,” said Saul Moran, Development Director at Billbergia.

Following an international design competition in 2018, the project will be designed by the winners, high-profile architects fjcstudio, in collaboration with Trias Studio, Aileen Sage and Polly Harbison Design. According to fjcstudio, the towers will feature distinctive yet elegant architectural design reflecting o Sydney’s geometry and urban character, with a network of through-site links and intimate public spaces activating the streetscape.

“Our design proposal has a distinctive and forward-looking form but is also restrained, elegant and reinforces the geometry, urban structure and maturity of Sydney. Fundamental to the urban character of the design is the fine grain orthogonal structure of the public domain and streetscape.

The small footprint tower forms nestle into a network of through site links and intimate public spaces addressed and activated by a variety of low scale buildings - a city in microcosm. The podium design is led by fjcstudio in collaboration with Trias, Polly Harbison, and Aileen Sage,” said Richard Francis-Jones, Design Director at fjcstudio.

Apartments will be delivered in a range of one-, two- and three-bedroom configurations, alongside exclusive penthouses designed to set a new benchmark for city living with boutique finishes, luxurious amenities and unobstructed views, spanning from Hyde Park to the Harbour and over Sydney Heads to the East. 

With the site’s acquisition now complete, subject to relevant approvals, demolition is expected to commence next year.

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