Located at 23-47 Villiers Street in the heart of the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct, Sentinel plans to deliver and manage approximately 350 high-quality and sustainable rental apartments across two buildings on the site, as part of our Australian Build to Rent venture with Dutch pension fund manager PGGM.

This will be Sentinel's sixth Build to Rent apartment community in Australia and our second in Melbourne, following the delivery of a 172-apartment project, The Briscoe, in West Melbourne, which is scheduled to open later this year. The acquisition of 23-47 Villiers Street grows Sentinel's total pipeline in Australia to more than 1,600 rental units under various stages of development or operation.

The new apartment community will target carbon neutral certification and a 5-Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, in keeping with other developments we have completed to date in Australia. On completion, it will be operated under Sentinel’s Australian property management brand, Kinleaf.

Keith Lucas, Sentinel's Managing Director in Australia said: "This is a meaningful opportunity to deliver a significant boost in housing choice for the area that will support the rapidly growing health and education precinct and more broadly, Melbourne's housing needs.

"We're looking forward to leveraging our experienced and established Build to Rent platform to transform this well-located inner-city site into a vibrant and sustainable community with high-quality rental apartments, a wide range of resident amenities, and a professionally managed rental experience," said Mr Lucas.

23-47 Villiers Street is strategically located in a world-class health, research, technology, education and innovation precinct, which has received A$2.8 billion of investment over the past 10 years and is currently home to around 49,000 employees, according to Victorian Government research. The site is in immediate proximity to Australia’s largest hospital precinct including The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The Royal Women’s Hospital and The Royal Children's Hospital; as well as the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, The University of Melbourne, North Melbourne Primary School and Royal Park.

Jikke de Wit, Senior Director Private Real Estate at PGGM said: "We primarily invest on behalf of those who work in the health sector, so we are very pleased that our investment in this project will support the creation of quality and low carbon housing that is well-positioned to benefit other healthcare professionals, whilst generating healthy, long-term returns for our clients."

The site has excellent connectivity to the Melbourne CBD and surrounding suburbs with tram and bus services located less than a five-minute walk away, and the new Parkville Train Station located within 400 metres. The Parkville Train Station will provide convenient access to the CBD, North Melbourne’s Arden Precinct, suburban Melbourne and the proposed Melbourne Airport Rail Link. It is currently under construction with completion expected in 2025.

The announcement received coverage in Australian media:

The Australian
Australian Financial Review
Urban Developer
IPE Real Assets
Development Ready
Australian Property Journal

Read more about our Australian Build to Rent Projects.

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Element 27, Sentinel's flagship Build to Rent apartment community in Subiaco, WA, which was the first purpose-built BTR apartment building operating in Australia

Sentinel and Dutch pension fund manager PGGM have today announced a new partnership to develop and manage up to A$1.5 billion in Build to Rent communities throughout Australia.

PGGM's first investment tranche opens up a pipeline of over A$700 million in initial development potential for the venture. The partnership aims to develop a national portfolio of approximately 2,500 Build to Rent units, with the first two sites for development already confirmed. Sentinel, through its vertically integrated platform, will provide investment management, development management and property management services to the partnership.

Michael Streicker, President of Sentinel, said: "Sentinel is proud to expand our partnership with PGGM into the Australian market. Their commitment to this venture is a clear vote of confidence in our Build to Rent platform and the future of the sector in Australia.

"We're committed to continuing to deliver high quality, sustainable and community-focused living that enhances the housing choices available to Australians. This is particularly important at a time where changes in the housing market and supply levels are front of mind for so many," said Mr. Streicker.

Jikke de Wit, Senior Director Private Real Estate of PGGM said: "We are excited to expand our relationship with Sentinel into the Australian Build to Rent market. Although the sector is still relatively small, we believe that it will grow over time and become an important part of the Australian housing market.

"Sentinel is a longtime partner of PGGM in the US and we are confident their expertise will help us build a new portfolio of high quality, low carbon apartment communities. The sustainability of this investment contributes to our client PFZW's long-term ambition to align their real estate investments with the Paris Climate Agreement," said Ms. de Wit.

The partnership will leverage Sentinel's 50 years' global multifamily experience and its decade-long endeavour to establish an Australian Build to Rent sector. In 2019, Sentinel delivered Element 27, Australia's first ever purpose-built institutional Build to Rent community, located in Subiaco, Western Australia. In 2021, the first phase of Element 27 became the first apartment building in Australia to be Carbon Neutral Certified under the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard for Buildings.

Sentinel currently has more than 1,300 Build to Rent units under various stages of development throughout Australia. Read more about our Australian Build to Rent Projects.

The announcement has received considerable coverage in the press:
Australian Financial Review
IPE RealAssets
The Australian
The Urban Developer
Australian Property Journal
Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute
IREI
Financial Standard
The Property Tribune
Real Estate Source
Business News

The post PGGM Partners with Sentinel in Australian Build to Rent Venture appeared first on Sentinel Real Estate Corporation News.