First look: Reve Group doubles down on Castle Hill apartment market

Just weeks after launching Nova Rêve to the market nearby, Hills District luxury home builder turned apartment developer Sam Kassis has revealed plans for another major project in the heart of Castle Hill.

Kassis and long-time business partner Romio Georges, who together run Reve Group, are behind plans for a 160-apartment mixed-use development at 5-13 Crane Road, one of the closest remaining developable blocks to Castle Hill Metro Station and Castle Towers.

The prominent 3,941 sqm site sits on Crane Road between Terminus and Mercer streets, just off Old Northern Road and around 100 metres from the Metro station. Castle Towers, the Castle Hill town centre and civic precinct are all within a short walk.

The State Significant Development Application has been lodged by Castle Diamond Pty Ltd, an entity linked with Kassis, who spent more than three decades establishing a reputation as one of the Hills District's leading luxury home builders through Kassis Homes.

Kassis and Georges subsequently moved further into larger-scale apartment development, delivering Grand Rêve in Castle Hill before establishing Reve Group as their dedicated development platform.

Their latest application comes barely a fortnight after Reve Group formally launched Nova Rêve, its next major Castle Hill project on Garthowen Crescent and Old Castle Hill Road.

Nova Rêve will comprise three residential towers alongside a hotel, restaurants, cafes and a skybar, more than 1,600 sqm of retail and almost an acre of landscaped gardens. Nova Rêve is just 650 metres from the newest project.

Turner, which also designed Grand Rêve and is working with the group on Nova Rêve, has designed two residential tower forms rising to 22 and 16 storeys.

Across the two buildings would be 160 apartments, comprising 93 apartments in the taller building and 67 in the second tower. Thirty apartments, or 15 per cent of the residential floor space, would be delivered as affordable housing.

The apartment mix is heavily weighted toward two and three-bedroom configurations.

There would be 16 one-bedroom apartments, 94 two-bedroom apartments, 46 three-bedroom apartments and four larger three and four-bedroom penthouses. Apartment sizes range from 50 sqm for one-bedroom apartments to as much as 285 sqm for the largest penthouses.

Turner has used the very different interfaces surrounding the site to shape the building.

A nine-storey street wall is proposed along the busier Terminus Street frontage, while the built form drops to between two and four storeys along Crane Road and Mercer Street to better respond to the lower-scale apartments, townhouses and houses to the east and north.

That transition is particularly relevant given the site's position between two very different versions of Castle Hill.

Directly west across Terminus Street is Atmosphere, whose curved towers reach 22 storeys and are already among the most prominent buildings around Castle Hill Metro. To the east and north are substantially lower-scale residential neighbourhoods.

Turner says the proposed 16 to 22-storey scale has been calibrated against both the existing built form and the future development expected around the Metro precinct.

The development would also continue the shift toward a more active Crane Road and Terminus Street precinct. Retail would wrap from Terminus Street around the Crane Road corner, while terrace-style apartments with their own street access would help activate Crane Road.

Around 1,176 sqm of communal open space is proposed, equating to close to 30 per cent of the site. Plans include barbecue and gathering areas, flexible lawn, sensory gardens and landscaped areas supporting both communal activity and quieter spaces.

There would be 216 car spaces, including 160 resident spaces and 32 visitor spaces, together with parking allocated to the retail and commercial component.

The Crane Road plans have been long in the making. Turner was first commissioned in late 2022 and initially tested one, two and three-tower schemes. A two-tower concept was progressed following discussions with The Hills Shire Council in 2023 before the project was revisited through the State Government's Housing Delivery Authority pathway in 2025. Its HDA expression of interest was successful, with the project recommended to proceed as State Significant Development before the SSDA was lodged in 2026.

Castle Hill is going through another boom of new development activity.

Aside from the recently launched Nova Reve, Dubai-backed developer ARADA is set to launch its 431-unit Wattle Green development in the coming months, while growing builder-developer Scion is waiting approval for its two-building development on Middleton Avenue. Urban Property Group and Masscon are also both prominent in the area with projects coming.