SP Setia to undertake new Melbourne project with RM1.9bil GDV

SP Setia proposes to redevelop the 5th Melbourne land, at 308 Exhibition Street, into two residential towers comprising up to 800 residential units with a retail podium space.

KUALA LUMPUR: SP Setia Bhd has bought a 1.02-acre site in Melbourne -- the largest east-end Central Business District (CBD) development site in the city to be sold in over a decade -- where it will undertake a mixed development project with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of A$640mil (RM1.91bil).

The property developer told Bursa Malaysia that it had secured its fifth site in Australia, 308 Exhibition Street, in “a highly competitive International Expression of Interest bidding exercise” from Australian telecommunications company Telstra Corp Ltd.

Its Australian property development arm Setia (Melbourne) Development Co Pty Ltd has inked a conditional agreement to acquire the freehold land opposite the Carlton Gardens for A$101mil (RM300.96mil). 

SP Setia president and chief executive officer Datuk Khor Chap Jen said that once transformed by the company, the site would be the epicentre of Melbourne CBD’s cultural, commercial, education and city garden hubs.

“This development will boast a combination of multi-level retail, prime A-grade office space and luxurious apartment towers and will set a new precedent for premiere developments across Melbourne and revolutionise its urban landscapes,” he said in a statement.

SP Setia proposed to redevelop the land into two residential towers comprising up to 800 residential units with a retail podium space.

The development is slated to be launched in the second half of next year.

As of Dec 31, 2015, the SP Setia group has 27 ongoing projects, with an effective stake of 3,907 acres in undeveloped land bank remaining and RM70.6bil in GDV.

Setia Melbourne has undertaken two successful condominium projects in Melbourne (Parque and Fulton Lane). It is currently undertaking planning for another two niche development projects in Prahran and Carnagie, both of which are also located in Melbourne.