Rare slice of Bondi's beachfront back on the market as luxury apartment development
134-138 Campbell Parade is back on the market with a DA in place for a luxury apartment development. Photo: Mark Merton Photography

'Best development site' opposite Bondi Beach tipped to fetch more than $20 million

A site overlooking the sand on Bondi Beach’s famous Campbell Parade is back on the market three years after it was bought by a pair of high-profile developers, with an approved plan now in place for a luxury apartment block.

The site, which currently has a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop and Ezy Mart convenience store, as well as eight apartments above, was purchased by Allen Linz of Rebel Property Group and Eduard Litver of Capit.el Group, for $18.25 million in 2017. All tenancy agreements have a demolition clause in place.

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An artist's impression of the planned development. Image: MHNDU Photo: MHNDU

Mr Linz and Mr Litver have a history of developing luxury properties along Bondi’s beachfront, transforming the former Swiss Hotel into the Pacific Bondi. They also paid $19.12 million for the nearby “Bates Milk Bar” site, at 124 Campbell Parade, in 2016.

Listing agent Nicholas Heaton, of CBRE, said that there had been initial plans to attempt to amalgamate the two sites but they had fallen by the wayside, and now the pair had decided to bring 134-138 Campbell Parade to market with a standalone DA in place.

Current plans for the site, drawn up by architects MHNDU, are for a five-storey “shop top” housing development, which would involve the demolition of existing buildings at the site and the partial retention of the Campbell Parade facade.

The proposal includes 10 apartments, a large ground floor retail store and basement parking for nine cars. All the apartments would have ocean views.

The plans were approved in the NSW Land and Environment Court in December.

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Ten luxury apartments are slated for the site. Photo: MHNDU

The property is being marketed by Mr Heaton along with Allan Levy of Metro Commercial, with initial feedback from buyers pointing to a sale of more than $20 million.

While the project is not yet officially on the market, Mr Heaton is reporting strong interest from international buyers attracted to the positive fundamentals underpinning Sydney’s luxury property market.

“Word travels fast when you are selling something this rare, and we already have interest from Hong Kong, South Africa and down the road from some of the locals. For luxury projects such as this, we expect the apartments to achieve average sales rates of $50,000 per square metres or more, which has become the regular along Bondi Beach,” Mr Heaton said, adding that retail rents along the Campbell Parade strip were reaching $3000 a square metre.

He said that the listing was a rare opportunity to get a foothold next to Australia’s most famous beach.

“I sell $2.5 billion worth of real estate per annum, I’ve been doing that for over 15 years and with over 200 sales a year, and this is the best development site I’ve taken to the market,” Mr Heaton said.

Mr Levy said that the luxury property market in the Bondi area would benefit from an overall uptick in residential confidence heading into 2020.

“The residential market is poised to increase by 10 to 15 per cent in 2020, and the luxury market is no exception. The buyer of this site will be the beneficiary of the best development site in Australia to capture that growth,” Mr Levy said.

The 417-square-metre site at 134-138 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach, is being auctioned on Tuesday, March 31.

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