Lendlease has strengthened its position in Australia’s fast-growing build-to-rent (BTR) sector after securing Tokyo-listed giant Tokyo Tatemono as a capital partner for a $500 million residential tower in Melbourne’s Docklands. According to the Australian Financial Review, the partnership marks Tokyo Tatemono’s first rental housing development in Australia and its first collaboration with the ASX-listed developer.
The 24-level, 499-unit tower, located within Lendlease’s Victoria Harbour precinct, expands a wave of Japanese investment reshaping Australia’s residential and mixed-use landscape. Tokyo Tatemono’s entry follows its long-standing collaboration with Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate in Japan, an existing backer of the same Docklands project, bringing established trust and alignment into the Australian market.
Tokyo Tatemono, one of Japan’s oldest and most diversified developers, brings experience across residential, office, and retail assets. Its partnership arrives at a pivotal moment for Lendlease, which is undergoing a major strategic overhaul led by chief executive Tony Lombardo. The company is repositioning toward more profitable, home-market projects and is divesting $4.5 billion in international assets to sharpen its focus.
Lendlease’s momentum in the BTR space has accelerated quickly. The developer’s first BTR project was announced two years ago at Brisbane Showgrounds, followed by a $650 million tower in Melbourne’s Docklands backed by Japanese heavyweight Daiwa House. The sector’s appeal stems from stable, long-term rental demand and growing institutional appetite—particularly from offshore capital.
Japan’s involvement in Australian real estate has surged. Last year, property transactions represented a fifth of all Japanese investment deals in Australia. The pace has continued, with AsheMorgan partnering with Marubeni, Haseko, and Mizuho Leasing on a $600 million Docklands BTR project, while JR West Real Estate & Development and Sotetsu Real Estate joined Investa on a Sydney studio apartment development valued at $230 million.
Major Japanese investors are now deeply embedded in the sector. Mitsubishi Estate recently acquired a 50% interest in Mirvac’s proposed $2.3 billion Harbourside redevelopment, while Sumitomo Corporation is co-developing a masterplanned community in Sydney’s north-west. In Melbourne, Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate continues to support its existing $500 million BTR partnership with Lendlease.
As demand for institutional-grade rental housing grows, the Docklands project signals not only a strengthening of Japan–Australia investment ties but also the rising maturity of Australia’s BTR market, now firmly attracting some of the world’s most experienced property groups.
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