James Packer backed venture swoops on Mosman mansions for apartment luxury project
Billionaire James Packer has his sights set on the exclusive Sydney market, as his company negotiates a major harbourside development deal.
Tycoon James Packer is looking to get into Mosman’s booming apartment development market, with a company he is backing now negotiating to buy a major site overlooking Sydney Harbour in the luxury enclave.
The up-market area has been running hot with billionaire AirTrunk founder Robin Khuda snapping up a nearby apartment site overlooking Sydney’s famed Balmoral Beach and another collection of 12 houses selling for $85m to developer Arissa Group.
Mr Packer, who has taken a renewed interest in the luxury apartment market, is backing Melbourne developer Time & Place, which has become a favourite of his in Sydney as it seeks to secure a site in the luxury suburb.
The company is in talks to buy at least two homes along luxury Redan Street with rumours that the price is between $65m to $70m. While the details are yet to be ironed out, industry players expect Time & Place to capitalise on new planning rules that allow for apartments of up to eight storeys to be developed.
Mr Packer has become a renewed devotee of property plays, which first made him significant sums in the 1990s when he was involved in property deals in inner city Darlinghurst and Surry Hills and beachside Clovelly.
While he owns a two-storey penthouse in the $2.4bn Crown Sydney casino tower, he already has interests in developments on Sydney’s north shore. In recent plays, he has teamed up with Time & Place to undertake both a successful mid-range project in Manly and a more luxurious play is also on the way.
His other big sites around Sydney include plans for a dramatic overhaul of a historic building in Surry Hills, again with Time & Place, and the moves to demolish the Chimes apartment building and replace it with a luxury tower in Potts Point.
Mosman has become a bit of a hot spot for developers and others that are active include Danny Avidan and Justin Brown’s Abadeen business, which each have luxury sites.
Time & Place confirmed to The Australian that it is “currently finalising the acquisition of a redevelopment opportunity on Redan Street Mosman”.
“The commercial terms of this acquisition are confidential. The development partnership is another project in the portfolio of developments being undertaken with NPACT — a property development and investment firm,” the company said, referencing Mr Packer’s venture with former casino executive Todd Nisbet.
Time & Place said it has an “intrinsic focus” on high-quality real estate developments that offer unrivalled locations and multigenerational value opportunities for our future owners.
“The acquisition will pave the way for the signature residential development that we are known for, in a breathtaking location with views to Balmoral Beach, access to the Mosman village local amenities, built-form design excellence, and a variation in residential sizes to meet the existing and future demand for residents of Mosman,” the company said in a statement.
Time & Place said it supported the NSW government’s planning policy in relation to “densification of designated areas supported by local amenity and transport”.
“We are sensitive to the need to bring projects forward that complement and improve the neighbourhood,” it said.
The company said it was planning a project in keeping with its recent sites, Two Tides in Manly and Marlborough House in Surry Hills. The joint venture team said it “will be celebrating everything that makes Mosman unique with a carefully considered, appropriate design that celebrates local character”. With the development team still working through the initial design response for the site it said that project details and specifics were not available.
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