Deicorp rides into Five Dock with supersite play

An artist’s impression of a potential development scheme for a Five Dock property on a Parramatta Rd site acquired by Deicorp.

Sydney developer Deicorp is readying plans for a new precinct in Sydney’s inner western suburb of Five Dock after snapping up one of the largest urban redevelopment sites in the city in an under the radar property purchase.

The growing company outmuscled traditional apartment developers and build-to-rent operators to snare the site for about $260m in one of the largest sales this year.

The move comes amid a supply crisis which has engulfed Sydney’s hi-rise market where many rival operations are struggling to get projects off the ground as banks tighten finance and building costs soar.

But Deicorp has been able to win both unit buyers and financial support for its large scale projects across Sydney’s suburbs and in the city.

The company has emerged as a key housing supplier as demand is also being spurred by rising immigration into the NSW capital.

The purchase of the site comes amid a broader revamp of the precinct along key artery Parramatta Rd.

The property was amalgamated over two decades by the Dodaro and Drivas families but they and the buyer have not commented. The sale of the site, known as Kings Bay Village, was handled by Colliers’ agents James Cowan, Matthew Meynell and Trent Gallagher, who declined to comment.

At just more than 3ha it could house about 1000 apartments and a shopping precinct. It is part of the wave of developments required to match growing demand from immigration and has been rezoned from industrial uses to mixed use, with early plans for a 3:1 floor space ratio and building heights up to 67m.

While detailed plans are yet to be lodged, the site is within the proposed Kings Bay residential precinct outlined in the NSW Government’s Parramatta Road Corridor Urban Transformation Strategy.

The strategy, released in 2016, seeks to revitalise the 20km corridor with better amenity, improved transport, walkable neighbourhoods and more diverse housing options.

It foresees the creation of the Kings Bay Precinct, a new residential and mixed use urban village area on Parramatta Rd, linked by a green corridor to the Parramatta River.

The Deicorp project will also make up a large slice of a masterplan for that area, being undertaken by the City of Canada Bay Council, which envisages 2,500 homes by 2050.

The precinct’s centre will include taller residential buildings at the corner of Parramatta Rd with a “dynamic skyline of towers” of up to 24 storeys, and improvements such as cycling pathways and greenery.

The Minns government has also signalled its support for more development near the new planned metro stations and the project is close to the planned Burwood North and Five Dock future metro stations.

Last year, Deicorp bought one of South Sydney’s last large-scale development sites in a $180m deal. It picked up the 2.86ha site at 130 Joynton Ave in Zetland and it is undertaking a major mixed-use development.

Such land constrained markets have very few scalable sites left for precinct-sized developments. But remaining properties are being chased by large offshore developers and institutions keen to back the dynamics prompted by rising inbound skilled migration and the under-supply of stock expected by 2024, which is expected to drive prices higher.

The low level of completions since the pandemic has created an under-supply of apartment stock in the area, worsening the affordability crisis, even as Deicorp moves on the Five Dock super site.