Gurner™ acquires prime Sydney Harbour site for future $800 million ultra-luxury twin-tower project

Multi-billion-dollar developer GURNER™ is set to deliver a new level of luxury to Sydney, announcing the acquisition of a trophy site at 189 Kent Street, Sydney, that will become home to a $800 million, 34-storey two-tower landmark on the doorstep of Barangaroo and Sydney Harbour.

The Kent Street acquisition represents the first seed site to have capital deployed within the developer’s $2 billion Build-to-Sell (BTS) development fund, which is backed by a global institutional investor.

The 1,195sqm site, which adjoins the Barangaroo precinct, currently houses a commercial office tower that was built in the 1960s, with current tenancies in place that GURNER™ will hold until completion of leases. The site has recently been granted planning approval for a residential development after a lengthy approval process by the site’s vendor Barana Group, who has held the asset since 2002.

This is the second transaction GURNER™ and Barana Group have completed together after GURNER™ first partnered with Barana Group in 2018 to develop St Kilda’s former Novotel site into one of Melbourne’s most exclusive and desired addresses, Saint Moritz. The Kent Street transaction by comparison represents a direct acquisition by GURNER™, which will not be developed in joint venture like Saint Moritz.

The acquisition forms part of a larger strategy for GURNER™, which is expanding its significant $10billion national pipeline of both build-to-sell and build-to-rent assets across Australia.

For Gurner Group CEO Tim Gurner, this is a chance to deliver a Saint Moritz-level of luxury in one of the most crowning development sites in Sydney, with the developer’s recently completed ultra-luxury development in Melbourne’s St Kilda set to be the blueprint for the impeccable level of sophistication, style, and service for Kent Street.

“Sydney and this key strategic site in particular is crying out for an ultra-luxury offering like Saint Moritz that transports its owners into a world of luxury and service above anything else in the country, inspired by the best hotels around the world.

“This site is positioned within one of the most expensive and luxurious locations in Australia, so we plan to take what we know from Saint Moritz and apply it on a whole new scale, to offer the market something that is completely unique in terms of design, luxury, service and amenity.”

The interiors will have GURNER™’s trademark focus on ultra-luxury design with expansive floor plans to maximise the panoramic views of Sydney Harbour and a new level of finish and materiality to create a grand sense of opulence throughout.

The site has an existing approval in place for two towers, ground-floor retail, restaurants and bars, a health and wellness component, and basement carparking. GURNER™ will now be seeking small amendments to the approval to reduce the number of apartments and increase the amenity provisions, in line with its vision for the site.

Award-winning architect FJC Studio has been appointed as architect, having won a competitive design competition between local and international architects.

The deal was brokered by Justin Brown, Tim Rees and Ben Wicks of CBRE.

“Kent Street represents one of the most prestigious development sites in Sydney; from the moment we were introduced to the site we knew we had to acquire it and do something very special in a market that is crying out for ultra-luxury stock.

“It’s quite the coincidence that we partnered with Barana Group in Melbourne to deliver Saint Moritz and now five years later transacting on another landmark site with the intention to deliver something of a similar luxury scale.

“I’ve come to know Greg exceptionally well throughout the Saint Moritz journey and I know he is proud of the pipeline he has built and in particular the successful planning approvals achieved at Kent Street so he wouldn’t entrust this site with just anyone.

“We’re certainly across the challenges the development industry is currently facing in regards to construction and interest rates. We’ve taken a conservative view to pricing and feasibility and feel supremely confident on the fundamentals of this site and its success.

“We have been watching the market very carefully for 18-24 months waiting for the right time to utilise the capital we have at our disposal, waiting for great opportunities knowing we can act quickly for the right sites, with a particular eye on Sydney and Melbourne.

“We also know there are different factors at play in Sydney – lack of affordability, scarcity of quality product and depth of the luxury market – that make it far more capable of withstanding the current economic headwinds, so it’s for this reason that we are very confident in the Sydney market and remain bullish on residential property in this blue chip city.

“Across other states it’s the construction and labour costs that are putting pressure on projects, which is why we see Sydney as such a strong opportunity with its higher price-per-square-metre average, motivated buyer pool and sought-after postcodes for offshore and local buyers.

“Sydney is a very unique market with an incredibly low amount of supply and an even smaller opportunity to acquire great sites with harbour views, it is even rarer to be able to transact on a site that also has planning approval ready to go.

“We’ll be delivering the GURNER™ level of amenity and service that our clients know us for and some very exciting announcements shortly on the site that will take it to another level again.

“Our vision to create a city-defining, ultra luxury address with New York-style whole-floor residences, gives us the freedom to create something truly incredible, with a level of class and luxury that we know Sydney is ready for,” he said.