Build-to-rent outfit apt.Residential rides rental wave at Meadowbank site

Build-to-rent investment manager apt.Residential’s $280m mixed-use precinct in Meadowbank will include 291 apartments.

Build-to-rent investment manager apt.Residential has launched a $280m mixed-use precinct in Sydney’s Meadowbank in the first leg of its rollout of a $1.5bn partnership with Dutch pension fund investor PGGM.

The new entrant to the busy sector is taking an initial focus on projects in the inner suburbs of Sydney, although it has national ambitions.

In its first property play, the company has swooped on a major new 22,000sq m mixed use precinct that will comprise 291 apartments and a new local retail centre that was being undertaken by smaller player Sasco Developments.

The private family that sold the site is an integrated property developer in Sydney which has been consolidating the land since the 1970s. Selling the site will allow it to pursue other smaller projects.

The incoming buyer will continue to undertake more detailed design work and is bringing more studios and one-bedroom apartments to the area, which has more developments with two- and three-bedroom units.

With a pre-approved development application, the project, apt.Meadowbank, will comprise a range of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments over four low-rise buildings.

The project will also include more than 4000sq m of street-facing retail and hospitality space, partly serving the residents of the new complex which will be one of few to come off the drawing board in 2026 as building costs crimp some projects.

The site at 1 Railway Rd, Meadowbank, will have a range of fully furnished and unfurnished apartments for long-term renters, providing much-needed supply to Sydney’s tight rental market.

It is near three major employment hubs and has good public transport connections, including train, bus and ferry at its door.

The suburb’s residential vacancy rate sits at a six-year low, at just 2 per cent, in keeping with Sydney’s tight rental housing supply, which has fallen behind surging demand.

The site at 1 Railway Rd, Meadowbank, will have a range of fully furnished and unfurnished apartments for long-term renters.

Apt.Residential managing director Matt Carolan said the project would make a “valuable contribution” to much needed rental apartment supply and help bring a vibrant community to the inner northwest suburb of Sydney.

“The current rental housing affordability crisis is expected to increase in the short to medium term, as many renters continued to struggle to access quality rental housing that they need,” he said.

The group will take an urban focus with sites it is targeting areas close to CBDs and where can use its building and management skills.

It is focused on build-to-rent. “We’re not doing PBSA and we’re not doing it pure co-living style development,” he said. “This project is our first step in a long-term vision to add necessary rental supply to the market, tailored to the needs of renters. That includes creating projects in employment and education hubs, developing convenient community amenity and providing turnkey solutions that serve those with more transient housing needs,” he said.

The project will include shared electric vehicles, co-working areas, a resident lounge, activated rooftops, and other amenities.

“We’re proud Meadowbank will be the location of our first landmark project,” he said. “Meadowbank is the perfect place for us to deliver much-needed housing, retail and hospitality amenity, and we look forward to bringing all of this and more to the suburb’s effervescent and diverse community.”

Demolition has commenced on site for apt.Meadowbank, with the project due for completion by the end of 2026.

The company is now looking at properties ranging from greenfield sites to brownfields assets where there is an existing building that can be reworked, or a project that can be redesigned for the specialist needs of build-to-rent projects.