One of North Sydney's best-known commercial buildings could become hundreds of new homes, with insurance giant Zurich Australia lodging a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) to transform 5 Blue Street into a mixed-use residential development above North Sydney Station.

Rather than demolishing the existing building and starting again, Zurich is proposing an adaptive reuse project that would convert the landmark office building into a 15-level residential development delivering 62 apartments, 86 affordable co-living dwellings, activated retail and significant upgrades to the Blue Street Plaza.

The proposal reflects a growing trend of commercial property owners repositioning ageing office assets into residential housing as Sydney grapples with housing supply shortages and changing workplace demand.

<img alt="Zurich" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0bba7d12-06dc-4375-aad7-238c94b21ac5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%2010.42.05%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=NJl5oLAEBDGuPmY3RnyliKODjMc8lvRh" />

Located directly above North Sydney Metro and train station, the 3,051 sqm site occupies one of the most strategically positioned parcels of land on Sydney's Lower North Shore.

Designed by fjcstudio, the proposal seeks to retain and adapt much of the existing structure while creating a contemporary residential address that better connects with the public domain surrounding North Sydney Station.

The application proposes two basement levels, ground floor retail, affordable co-living accommodation across the podium levels, and apartments above, while preserving and enhancing the publicly accessible Blue Street Plaza.

Rather than pursuing maximum apartment numbers, Zurich has opted for a housing mix heavily weighted towards larger owner-occupier residences.

The proposal includes 62 build-to-sell apartments comprising 12 one-bedroom, 19 two-bedroom, 29 three-bedroom apartments and two premium penthouses. It also incorporates 86 affordable co-living dwellings, which would be managed in perpetuity by a Community Housing Provider.

That balance between traditional apartments and affordable housing reflects the NSW Government's push to increase housing diversity around major transport infrastructure.

The proposal has been lodged concurrently with a rezoning application, with Zurich arguing the site is ideally positioned to support additional housing given its immediate proximity to public transport, employment and services.

"The proposal aims to respond to the housing challenges facing Sydney through the delivery of diverse housing types in a highly accessible location," the design report by fjcstudio states. It also seeks to improve pedestrian amenity through upgrades to Blue Street Plaza while creating a high-performing residential building that responds to the surrounding context.

<img alt="Zurich" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="36082e15-c636-4481-bb68-5a5f6443fe39" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%2010.41.36%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=5P6VD.fvmqjQfIG3TWWMRXxQWiQBjeFB" />

Rather than replacing the commercial building, fjcstudio has developed a design that works with the existing structural framework above the rail corridor, an approach that significantly reduces demolition while allowing the site to be repositioned as a mixed-use residential precinct.

The existing structural constraints have informed much of the building's design, including its relationship with Blue Street and surrounding public spaces.

The building has been designed as a slender tower rising above a clearly defined podium, with vertically expressed façades intended to reduce the perceived bulk while reinforcing North Sydney's emerging skyline.

According to fjcstudio, the architectural language responds directly to the surrounding commercial towers while maintaining a finer grain expression more closely aligned with the neighbouring Lavender Bay streetscape.

The tower incorporates articulated façade elements, landscaped podium edges and recessed upper levels to soften its appearance and improve pedestrian amenity below.

A significant component of the proposal is the revitalisation of Blue Street Plaza.

The existing public space has long served as one of the primary pedestrian connections between North Sydney Station, Greenwood Plaza and Blue Street, yet its role is expected to become even more important following the opening of Sydney Metro.

Zurich's proposal seeks to strengthen that role by improving landscaping, introducing new retail frontages, enhancing pedestrian permeability and creating more active edges throughout the day and evening.

Ground floor retail would wrap the plaza, while separate residential and co-living entries have been designed to improve wayfinding without reducing street activation.

Landscape design has been integrated throughout the podium and public realm, softening what is currently one of the most heavily urbanised parts of North Sydney.

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fjcstudio has carefully oriented apartments towards Sydney Harbour and the CBD while using privacy blades and articulated façades to minimise overlooking between neighbouring buildings.

Large framed openings along the western elevation maximise harbour outlooks, while the eastern apartments have been angled towards the south-east to improve privacy from neighbouring development.

The project forms part of the continuing transformation of North Sydney from a predominantly commercial CBD into a genuine mixed-use city centre.

Since the completion of Victoria Cross Metro Station, developers have increasingly shifted their attention towards residential projects capable of leveraging the area's unparalleled transport connectivity.

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FiveX recently lodged plans for a 61-storey, 490-apartment tower that would become one of the tallest residential buildings in North Sydney if approved.

Aqualand continues to expand its Lower North Shore presence following the completion of AURA on Walker Street and its recent St Leonards and Roseville proposals.

Developers are also progressing projects throughout Walker Street, Miller Street and the Victoria Cross precinct as demand for well-located owner-occupier apartments continues to strengthen.

Joel Robinson

First look: Zurich targets North Sydney office conversion with 148-unit proposal above Metro station

Busy developer Aqualand Prestige has formally taken the next step in its expansion across Sydney's Lower North Shore, lodging a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for its long-held Archer Street site in Chatswood.

The application covers <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/51-55-archer-street-chatswood-nsw-2067">51-55 Archer Street</a>, a 1,767 sqm amalgamated site on the eastern edge of the Chatswood CBD, where the developer is seeking approval for a 45-level mixed-use tower delivering 114 apartments, including a significant affordable housing component, alongside retail, commercial space and six basement levels of parking.

The SSDA marks the latest milestone for a project Aqualand has been quietly progressing over the past two years. The developer first secured the site for its Aqualand Prestige platform before undertaking an alternative design excellence process with PTW Architects, ultimately avoiding a formal design competition through the Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

The proposal has evolved considerably from Aqualand's original concept. The revised scheme has been designed around larger owner-occupier product, with an unusually high proportion of three and four-bedroom apartments, targeting the more affluent buyer profile, and downsizer, emerging across the North Shore.

<img alt="Archer St" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0171204c-5811-41b5-9b09-2335d1b7c3d0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%208.52.48%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=6YTuxfq.puZo7k2wbfgemcO5K3QfXYGQ" />

The 114-apartment mix comprises six studios, 27 one-bedroom apartments, 18 two-bedroom apartments, 50 three-bedroom residences and 13 four-bedroom homes. A quarter of the building will be dedicated to affordable housing, well above the mandated 15 per cent&nbsp;

PTW has structured the building vertically, with affordable housing across levels one to six, premium apartments through levels seven to 31, duplex skyhomes on klevels 32 to 43, a penthouse on level 44, and a rooftop plant level above. Six basement levels will provide resident parking and servicing.

The tower is proposed to reach approximately 154 metres, placing it among a growing collection of residential high-rises transforming Chatswood's skyline.

Rather than competing purely on height, PTW says the design has been driven by creating a slimmer tower capable of delivering significantly larger apartments.

"The primary objective of this project was to create a distinctive building that stands out from the recently approved or built structures in the Chatswood area," the design report states, noting the structural efficiency allows greater investment into apartment quality and resident amenity.

Residents would have access to more than 450 sqm of communal open space including landscaped gardens, swimming pool, rooftop entertaining areas, fitness spaces, community gardens, children's play areas and barbecue facilities.

A major focus of the design has been the public domain.

The ground plane has been opened up through landscaped terraces inspired by Willoughby's sandstone ridges, with native planting, public seating, artwork, retail activation and a series of gathering spaces intended to soften what has traditionally been a hard commercial streetscape.

The landscape strategy references Blue Gum forests once common throughout the area, while incorporating Indigenous storytelling, public art and lighting installations to strengthen the connection to Country.

Chatswood has been one of Sydney's busiest apartment markets over the past 12 months, with a steady pipeline of both new project launches and fresh development applications.

Hyecorp recently launched Celine, a 122-apartment development just along Archer Street, while Changfa and Huirong Group are progressing The Anderson, an 84-apartment project on Anderson Street.

Develotek recently secured approval for a 101-apartment tower on Pacific Highway, while Tian An LFD received the green light for Hammond Greens, its apartment development on the edge of the Chatswood Bowling Club.

Commercial property developer FiveX is also making its move into the residential market. Last month it lodged plans for a 61-storey tower with 490 apartments, which, if approved, would become one of the tallest residential buildings in Chatswood.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-fivex-targets-chatswood-skyline-with-61-storey-tower-after-north-sydney-plans">First look: FiveX targets Chatswood skyline with 61-storey tower after North Sydney plans</a>

Aqualand is also expanding its development pipeline following the launch of its luxury residential brand, Aqualand Prestige. The developer has delivered a string of high-end apartment projects across Sydney's affluent suburbs over the past decade, most recently AURA by Aqualand on Walker Street in North Sydney.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=30959 project_image_fid=292863]

It has since quietly assembled its next wave of projects.

Earlier this year Aqualand launched Boronia in Roseville, a boutique 111-apartment development on Larkin Street. The project is one of the first significant apartment developments to launch in the suburb ahead of what is expected to become one of Sydney's most active new housing precincts under the NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing reforms, which allow greater density around train stations.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152095 project_image_fid=373685]

The developer has also lodged plans for a two-tower, 413-apartment development on Herbert Street in nearby St Leonards, further strengthening its presence across the Lower North Shore.

Beyond that, Aqualand remains behind the final stage of Barangaroo, where plans will deliver a five-hectare mixed-use precinct comprising new homes, retail, hospitality and community facilities, alongside a new Metro entrance and more than two hectares of public open space, completing the Barangaroo precinct.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/central-barangaroo-development-takes-big-step-with-concept-proposal-approval">Central Barangaroo development takes big step with concept proposal approval</a>

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-aqualand-joins-st-leonards-apartment-party">First look: Aqualand joins St Leonards apartment party</a> 
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First look: Aqualand pushes ahead with Chatswood apartment tower as SSDA lodged for Archer Street

Mass timber is becoming an increasingly popular construction material in apartment developments, but Adelaide developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/otello">Otello</a> is taking the approach a step further.

At its new <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flowe-bowden-18-gibson-street-bowden-sa-5007">Flowe Bowden</a> development, the exposed cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure isn't just about reducing the building's environmental footprint. It also forms the foundation of a broader wellness strategy, influencing everything from indoor air quality and natural materials to the way residents move through and experience the building.

The 115-apartment mixed-use development, designed by Melbourne-based architecture practice Fieldwork, will occupy a prominent island site opposite Bowden Village Reserve, combining one, two and three-bedroom apartments with retail and a dedicated wellness destination.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375528]

Wellness isn't confined to a gym or shared resident facility at Flowe. Instead, Fieldwork embedded the concept into the building itself.

The development has been split into two residential wings connected by a naturally ventilated central breezeway, replacing traditional enclosed corridors with open-air walkways that improve natural light, encourage cross ventilation and create more opportunities for neighbourly interaction.

"Rather than treating wellness as something that only happens on the ground floor, our response integrates it throughout the building, which led us to ask what it really means to design a healthy building," Fieldwork Director Quino Holland said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375531]

The building's architecture also reflects Bowden's industrial heritage. The lower podium references the area's historic brick and sandstone buildings, while the upper levels transition to exposed CLT, allowing the timber structure to become a defining feature throughout the apartments and shared spaces.

The use of mass timber sits alongside a range of sustainability initiatives, including a fully electric, gas-free design, rooftop solar and a targeted 5 Star Green Star rating.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375524]

Inside the residences, the focus remains on natural, durable materials. Blackbutt engineered timber flooring, exposed CLT ceilings, porcelain surfaces and warm timber joinery create a calming interior palette, while low-VOC finishes and responsibly sourced materials have been selected to improve indoor air quality.

Kitchens have been designed as the centrepiece of each apartment, featuring porcelain island benchtops, timber-look cabinetry and brushed steel tapware, with layouts that maximise natural light and ventilation.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375530]

The more traditional interpretation of wellness comes in the form of Level Eleven, a two-storey wellness club spanning the ground floor, mezzanine and first floor.

The facility will include a gym, yoga and reformer Pilates studios, Finnish and infrared saunas, magnesium hot and cold plunge pools, and dedicated recovery spaces. Unlike many residential wellness facilities, Level Eleven will also operate commercially, allowing the broader Bowden community to access the venue while giving residents exclusive membership benefits.

The ground floor has also been designed around everyday living. A café overlooking Bowden Village Reserve will activate the street frontage, while a bike workshop with tool storage, co-working space and dog wash has been incorporated to support daily routines and encourage interaction between residents.

"Flowe brings together my two biggest passions, creating places and creating healthier lives," Otello founder Daniel Harris said.

"We wanted to create something Adelaide hasn't seen before, a genuinely healthy building, where the way you live is lifted without even trying."

Flowe is positioned directly opposite Bowden Village Reserve and within walking distance of Bowden Railway Station and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, placing future residents just minutes from the Adelaide CBD while remaining connected to one of the city's most established urban renewal precincts.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152022]

Otello launches wellness-focused Flowe Bowden with Adelaide-first mass timber apartment design

Not all apartment amenities are immediately visible.

Swimming pools, gyms, rooftop terraces and residents' lounges have long featured on buyers' wishlists, but as the way Australians live has changed, so too have the features that make apartment living more convenient.

Increasingly, buyers are placing value on the practical aspects of day-to-day life. Fast internet, EV charging, secure bike storage, flexible workspaces and parcel management are becoming just as relevant as lifestyle amenities, reflecting changing habits and expectations.

Online shopping has been one of the biggest drivers of that shift.

Australians spent a record $82.6 billion shopping online in 2025, with almost one in every four retail dollars now spent digitally, making parcel deliveries a routine part of everyday life rather than an occasional convenience.

For apartment residents, however, receiving those deliveries isn't always straightforward.

Without someone home to accept a parcel, deliveries can be redirected to a nearby Post Office, left in building foyers or common areas, or require building management to temporarily store packages. As apartment living continues to grow across Australia's cities, parcel management has become an increasingly important consideration for both residents and developers.

Australia Post's Parcel Locker network is one response to that shift.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KPZ9j5FRdsQ?si=Qztc1dNP3ZvEIUhb" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

Rather than relying on home delivery, eligible parcels can be directed to a nominated Parcel Locker, where they're securely stored until collected. Once a parcel arrives, residents receive a notification through the AusPost app or SMS and can retrieve it using a one-time code or QR code at a time that suits them.

The network has expanded to more than 1,500 locations nationwide, with Parcel Lockers positioned at Post Offices, shopping centres, supermarkets, transport hubs and, increasingly, within or alongside residential developments.

That growing presence reflects a broader change in how apartment buildings are being planned.

Developers are increasingly considering the operational side of apartment living alongside traditional lifestyle amenities. Just as secure mailrooms, bicycle storage and EV charging have become more common inclusions, parcel management is emerging as another feature that supports everyday convenience.

It also helps preserve the arrival experience within a building. Carefully designed lobbies and communal spaces can quickly become cluttered when deliveries accumulate, while secure parcel solutions reduce the likelihood of missed deliveries or parcels being left unattended.

For buyers comparing apartments, these everyday details are becoming part of the decision-making process.

Location, floorplans and finishes remain fundamental, but the features that simplify daily life are carrying greater weight than they once did. As online shopping continues to shape consumer behaviour, secure parcel delivery is increasingly becoming another amenity worth looking for.

Parcel delivery is joining the apartment amenity checklist

Inca Property Group has lodged a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for Dawn, a 53-apartment oceanfront development overlooking Mona Vale Beach.

The proposal, at 35-39 Darley Street East, would replace an existing 18-apartment strata building with a new owner-occupier-focused development comprising 53 two and three-bedroom apartments, including nine affordable built-to-rent residences delivered under the State's infill affordable housing scheme.

Positioned on a 2,679 sqm elevated site around 280 metres from Mona Vale Beach, the development has been designed to maximise panoramic ocean views while responding to the site's sloping topography.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/inca-property-group">Inca Property Group</a> Managing Director Josh Thompson said the State Significant pathway provided greater certainty for projects of this scale.

"This State Significant pathway gives the team real certainty to progress <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/dawn-35-39-darley-street-east-mona-vale-nsw-2103">Dawn</a> through to completion," Thompson said.

"It allows us to acquire a one-off site, design it carefully and deliver the right offering for the suburb, assessed by the NSW Government's planning department."

The project is one of the first developments in the area to be assessed under the NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing policy, with the site sitting on the edge of the policy's designated inner area.

The proposal includes three basement levels providing 124 car spaces, alongside a range of resident amenities including a swimming pool, gym, sauna, wellness facilities and private plunge pools for selected ground-floor and penthouse apartments.

<img alt="Dawn" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fc1a1daf-0ce4-4f12-9076-b1fa553c7a91" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-21%20at%208.42.11%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=4GZ9h.gpNkTljbxyAET8Jfhv51XUamDm" />

Thompson said Dawn had been designed specifically for owner-occupiers and downsizers, a buyer profile that has driven demand across Inca's recent Upper North Shore developments.

"The majority of buyers in our recent North Shore projects have been downsizers, and we are learning exactly what this market is looking for. Beyond the location itself, we have included resort-style amenities to deliver a genuine lifestyle offering," Thompson said.

Located within walking distance of Mona Vale Beach, the town centre, Mona Vale Golf Club and the Royal Motor Yacht Club, Dawn represents Inca's first Northern Beaches project following the sell-out of Tara on Park in Waitara and Ellis Residences, currently under construction in St Ives.

Construction will be undertaken by Inca's in-house construction arm, GOP Constructions.

Dawn is the latest major apartment proposal for Mona Vale, with the suburb emerging as one of the key beneficiaries of the NSW Government's new Low and Mid-Rise Housing policy.

New developer One Living, led by industry veteran Joseph Scuderi, recently secured a site on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, where it is planning around 140 apartments.

IPM is also planning its third project in Mona Vale, significantly increasing the scale of its previous developments with an 82-apartment proposal at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/159-167-darley-street-west-mona-vale-nsw-2103">159-167 Darley Street West</a>, opposite Bayview Golf Course and less than 800 metres from Mona Vale town centre.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/one-living-enters-sydneys-new-apartment-market-with-northern-beaches-site-acquisition">One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition</a>

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-ipm-plans-third-mona-vale-project">First look: IPM plans third Mona Vale project</a>

First look: Inca eyes Mona Vale with State Significant DA for Dawn apartments

Point Piper

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The Point Piper residence of Blue River Capital’s co-chief executive Grant Fuzi and his wife Naomi has been snappily sold.
D’Leanne Lewis, of Laing+Simmons Double Bay, was asking $13 million ahead of its scheduled March 18 auction.
The Alex Tzannes-designed home was built more than a decade ago.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2019/3/4/Wolsey%203.JPG" alt="">
The Wolseley Road property traded at $2.7 million in 2001.
The six-bedroom residence is set on an almost 900 square metres.
Fuzi co-founded the impact investment services firm Blue River Capital with Macquarie’s former global group treasurer Craig Shapiro.
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Blue River Capital boss Grant Fuzi secures snappy Point Piper sale

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The low-key Chinese businessman Yunji Huang has offloaded a vacant Point Piper harbour front block for $22.5 million.
The pre-Christmas off market transaction had sought to not disclose the price.
It is more successful however in keeping the ultimate owner's identity shielded.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/1/29/Wols1.jpg" alt="">
The 735sqm vacant block has been bought in the name of VJ Ryan &amp; Co accountant Peter Wyer, reportedly on behalf of an undisclosed trust.
It last sold at $14.35 million in 2013.
It came with approved $10 million plans for a new home at 42 Wolseley Road.
The approved five level Tzannes Associates residence will boasts six bedrooms, eight bathrooms and four car security parking.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/1/29/Wols2.jpg" alt="">
LJ Hooker Double Bay supremo Bill Malouf confirmed to the local paper, The Wentworth Courier that he sold a “block of dirt” at 42 Wolseley Road in the days leading up to Christmas.
It has been quickly speculated Wyer represents interests associated with the Russian billionaire David Traktovenko, the owner of the Sydney FC soccer club, whose property developer son in law Scott Barlow and his wife, Alina, live close by.
But Title Tattle glans the buyer was not them.
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Mystery whether Chinese vendor sells to Russian buyer on Wolseley Road, Point Piper

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The longtime Point Piper home of Australian advertising executive Malcolm Spry and wife Helen, who previously ran the noted Sydney eatery Chez Oz, is the first prestige listing of 2019 in one of the country's most exclusive suburbs.
The Spry's paid $1.1 million for the <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-point+piper-130190598" target="_blank">north facing 745 sqm Wyuna Road property</a> overlooking the harbour over three decades ago in 1986.
The home, which has been dubbed Spry House, was designed by Durbach Block Architects and was completed in 2003. It won the Robin Boyd Award a year later.
It featured in the book 100 More of the World’s Best Houses, the sequel to Robyn Beaver’s Top 100 Houses From Down Under.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/1/7/Wyuna4.jpg" alt="">
Offering views of the Sydney Harbour from every level, the home has four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
The master suite, which takes centre stage at the front of the house, with views from Manly to Rose Bay.
A designer entrance way opens to a sculptural formal entertaining area, designed to maximise the views. Sliding glass doors flow to a 23 metre lap pool, accompanying the outdoor entertaining area.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/1/7/Wyuna5.jpg" alt="">
Sydney Sothebys agent Michael Pallier has the listing with $18 million hopes.
The last prestige sale in Point Piper came late last year when financier Gordon Fell and wife Phillipa reportedly <a href="/news/point-piper-waterfront-routala-listed-for-55-million">sold Routala for around $49 million</a> after having $55 million hopes.
Just before the sale the couple <a href="/news/going-higher-than-sydney-kings-boss-gordon-and-pip-fell-buy-7-9-million-surry-hills-space">spent $7.9 million on the Surry Hills home and design HQ</a> of architect William Smart.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/subscribe" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/1/1/Strip%20ad%20keep%20up%20in%202019.jpg" alt=""></a> 
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Robin Boyd Award-winning Point Piper home kicks off 2019 prestige listings

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When expatriate retired mortgage broker 'Aussie' John Symond and wife Amber finally return to their home, (pictured above) from London, they might find they have several new neighbours on the pricey Point Piper peninsula.
There is an application to turn Portofino, the adjacent $60 million luxury home, into a block of three flats by the little-known Chinese multi-millionaire stock trader Andy Wenlei Song.
Portofino (pictured below, centre) was the longtime three-level home of luxury car dealer and yachtsman Neville “Croaky” Crichton and his then fiancée — now wife — Nadi Hasandedic.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/01/19/700_crichton2.jpg" alt="">
Crichton sold in 2016, just months before their lavish wedding, for $60.66 million, in what was the year’s top trophy home sale in Australia.
It required approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board, but seemingly no financing because there’s no registered mortgage on title.
In 2011, the six-bedroom Portofino was briefly rented by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melanie, at $25,000 a week.
Solicitors Minter Ellison have been nominated as assisting in the conversion application. 
The property is one of only two waterfront homes on the rather steep and narrow Wingadal Place.
The timber Scots College Rowing Club boatshed sits on the shore between Portofino and Symond’s five-storey home.
The conversion proposal has been with Woollahra Council since this time last year, and the revised plans have only just gone out for public comment.
The initial Rob Mills Architects plans raised concerns at council regarding excessive building height, the documents show.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2018/11/26/Aussie1.jpg" alt="">
The works are estimated to cost $7.28 million for the 1436 square metre waterfront parcel.
Crichton bought the property in 1994 for $5.9 million from helicopter pilot Bruce Rose and his wife, Pam, who held the only private helicopter landing rights in the eastern suburbs, which have now lapsed.
The New Zealand-born Crichton had commissioned Auckland-based architects Swan Railley Clapham &amp; Associates to design his Tuscan-style abode.
It is not known if the intention is to flip or hold, perhaps as a multi-generational family compound.
This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.
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'Aussie' John Symond set for new Point Piper neighbours 

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The mining billionaire from the West, Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest, has helped lift the declining Sydney property market out of its doldrums.
The philanthropic Forrest has emerged as the $16 million mystery buyer of the matrimonial Point Piper harbourfront of hotelier Ben May and his wife Lucy, who paid $11.85 million two years ago.
There were whispers following the mid-week sale of the trendy 1950s modernist Wunulla Road home had been bought by a Perth billionaire, which narrowed the list down to five.
Forrest's net wealth is calculated by Forbes as nearly $4.5 billion. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2018/11/20/Twig1.jpg" alt="">
The Forrests have had a bolthole apartment on Circular Quay since 2006. His last purchase, Tukurua, the historic $16 million Perth home, was briefly mooted as set to house refugees.  
Their acquisition of the south-facing Point Piper home won't get the picture postcard Opera House and Bridge views that homes on Point Piper's prestige Wolseley Road enjoy. 
His purchase is only the second known house sale in the exclusive suburb this year, in what has been the quietest purchasing patch since 2009 when there were just three house sales.
The highest house sale this year came when the waterfront home next to former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull sold for $19.2 million.
Forrest joins nearby low-key billionaire Alan Rydge who has shown no inclination to buying the neighbouring Routala, the home of Rubicon's Gordon Fell, which has a $55 million asking price.
As the mining bust dissipates, there's been some mining wealth emerge from across the Nullarbor plain.
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Susan Gibson, the woman who owns Perth's priciest home, spent $5.55 million on Crossways Farm in the Southern Highlands.
Mining tycoon Gina Rinehart has been buying up NSW rural holdings for her Wagyu beef enterprise and her daughter Ginia spent $14.75 million at Bondi Beach last year. 
It's in contrast to the restraint of Sydney's billionaires.
The casino tycoon James Packer has been exiting the Sydney market, including his longheld Bondi Beach bachelor pad, although he's committed to his $60 million off the plan purchase in the Crown Barangaroo complex.
On the waterfront since the early 1980s, Meriton apartment king Harry Triguboff is more interested in development sites than personal homes.
The retail family patriarch Frank Lowy has stayed put on the Point Piper waterfront for some four decades, having paid $310,000 in 1971.
Other Perth billionaires who own property in Sydney include the Seven Media tycoon Kerry Stokes at Darling Point.
This article first appeared in The Daily Telegraph. 
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Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest emerges as buyer of Ben and Lucy May's Point Piper harbourfront

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Hotelier Ben May and wife Lucy have sold their Wunulla Road, Point Piper harbour front for more than $16 million.
It has been reported it's been bought by a billionaire.
The 1958 home which was built by Hugh Buhrich sits on 795sq m.
It was bought around two years ago for about $12 million.
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There are lime-washed oak floors, multiple spacious living areas and terraces, a designer gas kitchen with Norwegian Rossa marble benches and European appliances, along with five bedrooms.
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Ben and Lucy had previously bought the <a href="/news/quick-resale-on-paddingtons-priciest-property-the-converted-windsor-castle-hotel">Windsor Castle Hotel conversion for $11.85 million</a>, before opting for the Point Piper home to be closer to better schools.
They sold just six months after their purchase for the same price to Goldman Sachs executive director David Nolan and wife Anita.
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Ben and Lucy May sell Point Piper harbour front

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Point Piper has its priciest listing since 2016 with the offering of the waterfront Routala.
The <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-point+piper-129247630" target="_blank">Wunulla Road home</a> has been listed by Gordon Fell, founder of Rubicon property trust empire, and wife Phillipa.
Dr Fell, who has been a chairman of Opera Australia, recently founded hotel investment company Sequitur Hotels.
The Fells have listed the home given their three children have departed the home and the couple are travelling overseas more often.
They're looking to double their money, having paid a national record $28,750,000 in 2007 when buying from horse breeder Warwick Miller.
The harbourside mansion was bought just before the GFC, when Dr Fell sold his Rubicon property empire, which subsequently collapsed.
David Coe’s finance group Allco paid $331 million for the management company that oversaw Dr Fell’s $5 billion property funds empire Rubicon.
Allco later collapsed under its debt load. 
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Built in 1999 by leading architect Michael Dysart, Routala is set in 1,380 sqm of Myles Baldwin gardens.
It comprises six bedrooms, a home office, library, self-contained guest quarters and a formal dining room.
There's a 5,000 bottle climate-controlled wine cellar, fully integrated home cinema with wet bar and seven car basement garaging, complete with workshop and home gym.
Crowning the home is a rooftop terrace with views across Sydney Harbour.
Down by the water meeting the private deepwater jetty is a gas heated swimming pool, his and hers changing rooms and a kitchenette and a covered alfresco entertaining area with barbecue, fire pits and sunken seating.
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Gordon and Phillipa, who have work commitments overseas, renovated throughout in 2016. 
Brad Pillinger has the listing, with an economic campaign with 12 uninspiring images going up on website earlier this week.
The campaign doesn't feature any images back towards the house from the water.
Nor are there any drone shots, which for whatever reason have become ubiquitous in every house campaign these days.
There is a somewhat styled picture of the harbourside table, with empty wine bucket, some empty wine glasses with the plates about to be laid out.
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Last year's highest sale in Point Piper was the complication off market purchase of the half complete re-build of Deauville, which sold for $39 million.
The completed home would have been closer to $45 million, or more, but involved an undisclosed construction completion component.
It was bought by luxury car importer Neville Crichton, who sold his former Point Piper home for $62 million in 2016.
 
 
 
 
 
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Point Piper waterfront Routala listed for $55 million

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Scotts Honda Motors former owner turned property investor Paul Scharrer and his wife Pam have sold their Point Piper apartment.

They are the whispered buyers of the $30 million O'Neil boathouse on the Point Piper waterfront.

Ending almost 60 years of family ownership, there is still no exact price reveal on the sale.

The couple’s apartment in the Kilmory Estate was listed for $10 million. 

The Scharrers’ garden three-bedroom apartment was bought in 2016 for $6.5 million from Cynthia Cheung, of the Coogee Bay Hotel family.

<h2>NSW properties selling now:</h2>

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[smartcode_project:default project_id=13642]

[smartcode_project:default project_id=31240]
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Paul Scharrer sells Point Piper apartment in the Kilmory Estate 

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The Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Andrew Banks and his wife Andrea returned last week to Point Piper.
It was a $21 million non-harbourfront acquisition by the star of Channel Ten's Shark Tank reality series. 
The couple have immediately lodged $1.4 million renovation plans telling neighbours their proposed Bokor Architecture alterations are generally restricted to internal changes, although they will be knocking down the quaint 1930s weather vane tower above the garage. 
There will be a new zinc roof and they plan to render the red brick home with a white wash.
Banks is leaving no stone unturned in the renovation.
He's called on one of Australia's leading landscapers Paul Bangay to create the gardens, while Thomas Hamel, of the same standing in the designing world, will be handling the interior.
The Bank's are back in Australia’s most expensive neighbourhood, having made headlines in 2010 for the $52 million sale of their waterfront mansion, Villa Veneto to the Penn family.
Their recently acquired 1930s-era residence on Wyuna Road was sold by South African medical device entrepreneur Dr Charalambos Revelas and his wife Mary who are the $15.75 million buyers of Edgecliff trophy home, Carmel.
Carmel was built in the 1930s for stockbroker, Stanley Utz. Banks, who started his career as an actor in England at The Old Tote Theatre Company, made his fortune in the recruitment industry, co-founding Morgan &amp; Banks in 1985 with Geoff Morgan.
His appearances on the Channel Ten show - where he returns later this year - saw him offer to invest in the iCapsulate coffee company, with a show record $2.5 million, which would have given him 22.5% of the company. But it failed to proceed after Bank did due diligence.
Following the sale of his Point Piper trophy home in 2010, the couple moved to Los Angeles, paying $US9 million for a Beverly Hills mansion, quite near to where their children, Nick and Sophia had made their homes having married Americans.
After a major renovation, the couple recently sold in Beverly Hills for US$15,995,000.
One of his mottos is "I don’t think we should tip-toe through life towards death".
This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph.
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Point Piper renovation for Shark Tank's Andrew Banks

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The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and wife Lucy are getting new neighbours in Point Piper.
The neighbours Tiffany and Ben Tilley have found a near $20 million buyer.
It was the Point Piper home that Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull built.
The home, originally known as Gwandalan, was built after the Turnbull's excised some of the land for habrourfront access.
The Turnbulls had paid $7.1 million in 1999, already owning, Le Gai Soleil next door, with the intention of an expansion of their land holding for more harbourside and the jetty.
Ben and Tiffany Tilley paid $13.6 million for the Wunulla Road home in 2011, so the price reflects just shy of six percent annual price growth.
Set on 590 sqm, the Michael Suttor designed home offers unrestricted harbour views across Felix Bay.
The three level entertainer with lift features living spaces that spill on to balconies and landscaped gardens, complete with pool.
The private lowel level is dedicated to a self-contained two bedroom retreat with living space and kitchenette.
.It has been a regular summer rental for the artistic McGrath family
Brad Pillinger at Pillinger Double Bay was marketing the home with $25 million hopes.
Last December the home on the other side of the Turnbulls was sold. The luxury car importer Neville Crichton and wife, Nadi bought the incomplete beachfront property for about $45 million. It was the Mediterranean residence, Deauville that was sold by Michele and Dr Glenn Haifer, a healthcare businessman.
Scotts Honda Motors former owner Paul Scharrer and his wife Pam recently spent $30 million nearby on the south facing O'Neil boathouse, ending almost 60 years of family ownership.
The article was first published in The Sunday Telegraph.
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