Greystar updates BtR plans for former Topplace site in Zetland

Developers continue to make lemonade out of lemons as Greystar applies to update plans for the former Toplace site.

Greystar acquired the DA-approved 888 Bourke Street project in 2023 for $72 million as its first build-to-rent project in NSW.

A multinational property developer headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, has submitted an application to Sydney City Council to amend existing plans for the main Zetland site.

The changes will see the restoration of three ground floor studio apartments in Building B, bringing the total number of apartments to 190.

They also centralized the common areas in Building A, creating a new gym in the basement in Building B, and eliminated the outdoor rooftop space in Building B, aiming to “achieve the highest level of resident amenities,” according to the change application from Ethos Urban. .

Greystar is also making changes to the design at the request of the council and altering the building’s façade with design work carried out by PTW Architects.

“The proposed amendments will promote the development of a community-based BtR, tailored to meet the internal and external needs and expectations of future occupants,” the application states.

They will “further enhance the building’s performance as rental housing” and “are consistent with Greystar’s commitment to providing attractive and viable residential housing now and into the future.”

Plot with an area of ​​7069 sq. m has frontages on O’Dea Avenue, Bourke Street and Kingsborough Way to the south, which is approved for extension across the site to the junction with O’Dea Avenue.

The original development application was approved in 2020 and detailed the construction of a mixed-use development of two seven-storey towers.

After iGreystar bought the site, it submitted changes to correct errors in previous applications, and in May this year submitted another application to convert the site from a retail and residential property to a rental property.

The current application is the sixth development modification. This is also Greystar’s first foray into the Sydney market as its first residential property to which it has ownership.

The changes come hot on the heels of Aland’s announcement that the developer had acquired sites in Castle Hill and Parramatta, the latter in a $100 million deal.

Toplace and its director Jean Nassif have been banned from operating after a series of stop-work and building repair orders at tower blocks across Sydney.

The company called in administrators in July last year, a month after an arrest warrant was issued for Nassif on charges of large-scale fraud.