Property investment firm Sentinel has acquired a 6,528 sqm site for a new Build to Rent development in North Melbourne, Victoria, as part of its Australian Build to Rent venture with Dutch pension fund manager PGGM.
Located at 23-47 Villiers Street in the heart of the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct, Sentinel plans to deliver and manage approximately 350 sustainable rental apartments across two buildings on the site.
The 23-47 Villiers Street development is currently under construction. Upon completion – which is expected in 2025 – the scheme will be operated under Sentinel’s Australian property management brand, Kinleaf.
“This is a meaningful opportunity to deliver a significant boost in housing choice for the area that will support the rapidly growing health and education precinct and more broadly, Melbourne’s housing needs. We’re looking forward to leveraging our experienced and established Build to Rent platform to transform this well-located inner-city site into a vibrant and sustainable community with high-quality rental apartments, a wide range of resident amenities, and a professionally managed rental experience.”
Keith Lucas, Managing Director (MD) – Australia, Sentinel
This will be Sentinel’s sixth Build to Rent apartment community in Australia and its second in Melbourne, following the delivery of a 172-apartment project, The Briscoe, in West Melbourne – which topped out last year and is scheduled to open later this year.
The acquisition of 23-47 Villiers Street grows Sentinel’s total pipeline in Australia to over 1,600 rental units under various stages of development or operation.
23-47 Villiers Street is strategically located in a world-class health, research, technology, education and innovation precinct, which has received A$2.8bn of investment over the past ten-years and is currently home to around 49,000 employees, according to Victorian Government research.
The site is nearby to Australia’s largest hospital precinct that includes The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The Royal Women’s Hospital and The Royal Children’s Hospital; as well as the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, The University of Melbourne, North Melbourne Primary School and Royal Park.
“We primarily invest on behalf of those who work in the health sector, so we are very pleased that our investment in this project will support the creation of quality and low carbon housing that is well-positioned to benefit other healthcare professionals, whilst generating healthy, long-term returns for our clients.”
Jikke de Wit, Senior Director Private Real Estate, PGGM
Alongside this, the development is closely connected to the Melbourne CBD and surrounding suburbs, with tram and bus services located less than a five-minute walk away and the new Parkville Train Station located within 400 metres.
The Parkville Train Station will provide convenient access for residents to the CBD, North Melbourne’s Arden Precinct, suburban Melbourne and the proposed Melbourne Airport Rail Link.
The new apartment community will target carbon neutral certification and a 5-Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, in keeping with other developments that Sentinel have completed to date in Australia.
