Co-living unit proposal for Kingsford proposed for a second time for Anzac Parade

A Sydney developer is eyeing a second shot at a multi-milliondollar co-living development in Sydney’s east, set to service university students and workers in the health and racing industries.

Photomontage of the proposed design from Anzac Pde.

A Sydney developer is eyeing a second shot at a multi-milliondollar co-living development in Sydney’s east, after being knocked back last year.

Plans lodged by Kingsford Parade Pty Ltd for a 10-storey building featuring 94 co-living rooms at 311-315 Anzac Pde, Kingsford is back before Randwick Council.

Previous plans for 311-313 Anzac Pde, which involved demolishing the existing building and erecting 65 co-living rooms across two buildings, were knocked back by the Randwick Local Planning Panel in October last year

Developer Costa Charalambous told this publication that council wanted 315 Anzac Pde “to be part of the (development) site” despite the original scheme being “fully compliant”.

“We were [also] handing over a laneway to the council plus over $1.2m in fees [but] they still didn’t see the value in the development which made zero sense to us,” he said.

Photomontage of the proposed courtyard design.

However, council papers from last October say the planning panel rejected the proposal due to it not complying with the minimum lot size requirements for co-living housing, no workspace being provided for the manager, among other reasons.

The papers also indicate there was “insufficient information” and a “full and robust assessment of the proposal” was unable to be completed due to a number of deficiencies and lack of detail.

Mr Charalambous has since bought the neighbouring block of 315 Anzac Pdea and, in council papers, says the amended design addresses the previous concerns of the council and planning panel.

Photomontage of the proposed design from Houston Lane.

The development, if approved, would include seven single rooms, and 87 double rooms with communal living and open spaces on levels one, four and nine.

Mr Charalambous said the rooms would accommodate hospital workers, city-based workers, racecourse workers and potentially nearby university students.

“We build more upper end buildings and have them managed by UKO (a co-living and built-to-rent property management business) which is where this one will also probably be placed,” he said.

Council papers states the site is well-serviced by public transport, with the light rail operating along Anzac Pde and the Kingsford station less than 50m away.

The $16.2m development is located 500m from the University of NSW and under 1km from the Prince of Wales Hospital.

Mr Charalambous said he hoped Randwick Council “won’t fight us” on the new application.

“It’s very easy for us to just build conventional apartments in this area, but that would mean not [being] able to provide great accommodation for 94 singles or couples who need to live in the area and cannot afford to buy, but have brand new facilities,” he said.