Green Light For Greystar's BTR Melbourne Project

Australia’s build-to-rent sector just received a powerful shot in the arm with US developer Greystar receiving the green light on its latest Melbourne project.

Set to be the country’s largest BTR project, the $500 million project in the upmarket local of South Yarra, in Melbourne’s inner east, hopes to start building in early 2022.

Greystar has put together a $1.3 billion fund, of which this development is the first.

Comprising of 625 apartments the South Yarra project is one of two projects in the Greystar Australia Multifamily Venture 1 fund. The fund has ambitions to build 5000 or more dwellings.

The project has procured the talents of renowned architecture firm Fender Katsalidis in South Yarra’s Forrest Hill precinct, the project will see two towers over a combined basement, ground-level retail and laneway links to South Yarra train station.

The first 30-storey tower, located on Yarra Street, is to be comprised of 382 apartments and 2000sqm of office space while the second 21-storey building on Claremont Street will house 243 apartments.

The commencement of the project is in line with a 50% land tax break for BTR projects that is due to commence net year under a state government incentive.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is selling his Northern California estate, which was listed Monday for $24.5 million.

Located in Atherton, an extremely affluent town northwest of Palo Alto and about 30 miles south of San Francisco, the 3.36-acre property is made up of three parcels that Schmidt acquired over the years, according to public records and Compass, who has the listing.

Schmidt, 69, and his wife, businesswoman Wendy Schmidt, purchased the main home in 1990 for $2 million, according to public records accessed via PropertyShark. They remodelled the 1969 home in 2007, and at that time, bought a neighbouring parcel of land, allowing an expansion of the main house and the addition of a guest house, according to Compass, who holds the listing. A third parcel was later acquired, on which the Schmidts added an English garden house and landscaped grounds overlooking the Eastern Hills.

“Finding three contiguous parcels in Atherton is rare. Even rarer are those with views of the Eastern hills,” said listing agent Katharine Carroll of the reSolve Group at Compass. “The location of this residence is ultra private, at the back of a cul-de-sac with the main house built into a hillside that provides privacy and very good security.”

Across the estate, there are five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and six half bathrooms.

The 5,265-square-foot main house also offers a number of private outdoor spaces on its upper level, including a large terrace off the primary suite, another large terrace off a secondary bedroom, plus a third smaller terrace and two balconies.

Behind the main house is a patio with a pool and spa. For even more outdoor space, there’s an entertaining pavilion, an open lawn and an outdoor fireplace area near the guest quarters.

The grounds themselves are also a standout feature, with an array of mature plants and specimen trees. The upper portion of the property’s landscaping is designed around an Amdega-designed conservatory, which was imported from the U.K. Around the greenhouse, there is a garden of raised beds and fruit trees, Carroll said.

“From the moment you step onto the grounds, it feels as if you’ve been transported to a private botanical sanctuary,” she said.

Schmidt served as Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011, and then became the company’s executive chairman until 2015. He could not be reached for comment.

This article first appeared on Mansion Global

Green Light For Greystar’s BTR Melbourne Project

Construction is set to commence early 2022.