Land near St Joseph’s Spirituality Centre in Baulkham Hills is up for sale

LAND near St Joseph’s Spirituality Centre is on the market. The 13ha property at Mackillop Drive was put up for sale on Thursday.

The Mackillop Drive lot is up for sale to developers.

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LAND near St Joseph’s Spirituality Centre is on the market.

The 13ha property at Mackillop Drive was put up for sale on Thursday. JLL Sydney director David Mathews said it had already had attracted “strong interest”.

“This is the chance to create a high-end, boutique and exclusive estate in the Hills, similar to Bella Vista,” Mr Mathews said.

“We have had a huge amount of inquiries about it from developers. It’s a highly sought-after development and is one of the most popular in the Hills.

The St Josephs Centre for Reflective Living at Baulkham Hills was listed on Airbnb for guests to stay.

“It’s already approved (for development) and the lots of land are quite large.”

The approved plans outline 71 large residential lots measuring 779 sqm on average as well as 75 medium-density lots which could be turned into townhouses or detached smaller homes.

Mr Mathews said it would be an ideal location to live for those who worked in the Norwest Business Park.

“It will be within walking distance of the Norwest train station and the business park so it really ticks all the boxes,” he said.

“I expect there would be a lot of people who work in the business park who would look at living here, especially business owners.

The land was originally owned by Alexander MacDougall in the 1800s.

“To have these larger lots near a train station is very rare. To buy into one of these estates near a train line, you’d have to go to Kellyville.”

The development plan was unanimously approved by the Joint Regional Planning Panel in 2013. The plans put before the panel outlined an $81 million vision for 42 apartments, 69 townhouses and seven homes.

A spokeswoman for the Sisters of St Joseph said: “The Sisters of St Joseph has engaged in a sale process for a block of vacant land the congregation owns, adjacent to the St Joseph’s Centre for Reflective Living, at Baulkham Hills.

“The Spirituality Centre continues to be owned and operated by the Sisters of St Joseph and staff and visitors will be impacted as little as possible by the sale.”

The site is historically significant, featuring a heritage-listed interwar Californian bungalow built around 1928.

The building will need to be preserved and incorporated into the design of the new housing estate.

The land was owned by Alexander MacDougall. After changing hands, it was finally bought by the Sisters of St Joseph in 1952 and the convent was built in 1956.