This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
DISABILITY support provider McCall Gardens Community Foundation is putting 30.9 hectares of land in north western Sydney to the market with expectations of more than $200 million that “future proof” the organisation’s work.
The parcel at 10-32 Terry Road in Box Hill, 42 kilometres northwest of the CBD, forms part of the McCall Gardens facility that has provided accommodation and community facilities for people with disability for nearly 70 years.
The Foundation will retain 4.74 hectares of land for its existing community facilities and operations. It will consider a variety of transaction structures, including a straight sale and a project delivery agreement.
Grant Bulpett and Mark Litwin of Knight Frank have been appointed to manage the sale of the land, which could deliver more than 1,150 dwellings across house and land packages, townhouses and low-rise apartments opposite the new Box Hill city centre, which has around 21,000 sqm of retail space due for delivery in mid-2023.
McCall Gardens Community Foundation chair Dan Reeve said the land sale was a one-off opportunity to “future proof” the work of the organisation, while creating community facilities through the refurbishment of the existing heritage buildings that the foundation will retain.
“The McCall Foundation, through its board of directors, is currently reviewing a number of possibilities to future-proof the important work carried out by McCall Gardens Community Foundation, which has provided accommodation and other ancillary services for people with disability since 1957,” he said.
“Any decisions made by the board will consider the ongoing need to provide quality care and support for its participants and to enhance the local community of Box Hill.
He said the McCall Foundation’s board’s decision to offer the land to the market is based around achieving three key objectives, including the need to maintain an ongoing attachment with the history and heritage of McCall Gardens, the imperative of “future proofing” the long term financial needs of the operations and services of the charity, and ensuring the heritage elements of the site are maintained for the local community.
Bulpett said the property was the largest last remaining greenfield residential development site in Box Hill.
“The site has the opportunity for a diverse offering including detached housing, townhouses and apartments which should meet the growing demand for residents looking to be close to the incoming amenity and infrastructure.
“Given the size and diverse offering of the site we expect buyer interest to be strong and come from a wide range of developers from both interstate and international.”
Litwin said demand for residential development sites in Sydney had remained strong, despite recent interest rate rises temporarily impacting the market.
“Sydney has a chronic shortage of housing,” he said. Sydney’s major districts will struggle to deliver on their 2026 targets of housing additions, analysis from the Property Council of Australia and Gyde Consulting shows.
“With overseas migration set to rebound strongly, as well as intra and interstate migration back to New South Wales, demand for homes in Sydney will continue to be strong, and significantly more supply will be needed.
Expressions of interest close Thursday, 29th September.
