PERIFA seizes Balmain site with Mitsubishi for $800m tower

One of the most controversial property sites in Sydney is now in new hands – and after years of false starts it could help address Sydney’s housing shortage.

An artist’s impression of the proposed Rozelle Village that PERIFA will develop on the site of the former Balmain Leagues Club.

One of Sydney’s longest running property sagas, the redevelopment of the former Balmain Leagues Club site, has taken a new twist with local developer PERIFA, backed by an offshoot of Japanese trading house Mitsubishi, swooping on the project.

The pair have pledged to get the project under way after the site fell into disrepair amid years of planning delays and legal battles when it was controlled by Chinese-backed Heworth Holdings, which has exited for an undisclosed sum.

The new owners now expect to get the long-mooted $800m project finished in 2028 so it will hit the market when few Sydney apartments are getting off the ground.

PERIFA has as its investment partner Mitsubishi Estate Asia, and the pair will work together on the development known as Rozelle Village and designed to appeal to inner-city dwellers.

Demolition work began last month after two decades of financial battles and dumped schemes for the Rozelle site. Under the latest plans, the dilapidated West ­Tigers Leagues Club has been earmarked for a 16-storey development housing 227 apartments, including 59 affordable housing units, under new NSW planning rules.

The move drew the ire of the council as Heworth had already won approval for a 12-storey mixed-use development, but the developer applied to the NSW government for a 30 per cent density bonus as its scheme now includes affordable housing.

The council warned that the derelict building site was a dangerous eyesore and said it should have been knocked down years ago, citing repeated large-scale fires.

Heworth has separately lodged a $97m claim against Transport for NSW over its since abandoned plans to compulsorily acquire the land for a temporary construction site for the Western Harbour Tunnel, with a court hearing slated for next week.

The site’s new owners are hoping to pick up the pace on building, with the project to include a mix of luxury apartments and ­affordable housing, alongside commercial and retail spaces and a new home for the West Tigers Leagues Club.

The project is their second tie-up, while Mitsubishi Estate Asia has already backed a series of precincts, including Lendlease’s One Circular Quay and 1 Darling Point Road, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

PERIFA managing director Fabrizio Perilli said the Balmain Leagues Club in Rozelle, which closed in 2010 to make way for the NSW Government Metro Transport Project, was once a local hub.

“But for too many years the community has had to put up with a derelict site on their doorstep,” he said. “We’re delighted to embark on a new era for the site.”

The derelict former Balmain Leagues Club site on Victoria Road. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

He said the owners’ vision was for a “mixed-use precinct that is thoughtfully designed and caters to new residents and the community alike”.

Mitsubishi Estate Asia head of Australia Yuzo Nishiyama said the company looked forward to “continuing our relationship with PERIFA, drawing on the team’s extensive expertise in delivering high-quality precincts across residential, retail and commercial”.

The project has been designed by architecture practice Studio.SC, formerly Scott Carver, with interiors by SJB and landscaping by Arcadia. It will include one, two and three-bedroom apartments and penthouses, with views of Sydney Harbour, a village square, food and hospitality venues, a community art studio and a full-line supermarket.

Mr Perilli said the precinct would not only revitalise the area through the delivery of thriving new public spaces, high-quality apartments, well-considered retail and community facilities, but offer a considerable contribution to Sydney’s chronic lack of housing. He said he planned to leverage the wider capabilities across the Versatile Group, which controls PERIFA, as well as Procure Build and Absolute Tiling & Stone, and Gavel Co, by drawing on these companies.

Demolition at the site is nearing completion and, with the project going through the NSW State Significant Development Application process, Versatile Construction will begin main building works by mid-year, with the project to be finished in 2028.

PERIFA and Mitsubishi Estate Asia are separately developing the $300m heritage adaptive reuse site Putney Wharf Residences, alongside partners Abadeen and Phoenix Property Investors.

Originally published as PERIFA seizes Balmain site with Mitsubishi for $800m tower