Shovel-ready Dural seniors development set for $30m windfall

A 6.32ha senior living development blocked by the NSW Land and Environment Court in 2018 is back on the market with new DA approved plans.

Known as Wirrabara Village, the huge parcel of land at 3-5 Pellitt Lane and 9 Wiarrabara Road is offering developers the ability to build 136 residences.

The listing is set to land the developers a financial windfall upwards of $30 million after purchasing the site in 2017 for $12 million.

The initial development caused outrage within the Dural community, with the Hills Shire Council going to the NSW Land and Environment Court to stop the project. The court turned the plans down in 2018 over concerns about its impact on endangered and threatened species nearby, plus the location and access to infrastructure.

The 6.52ha site is near the Dural town centre.

Artist impression of how the development will look.

This followed the State Government signing off on plans for a four-storey 72-bed aged care facility, 117 assisted living units across two- and three-storey buildings, 37 independent living units and 80 apartments.

The new Wirrabara Village will be much smaller with approved plans consisting of 97 houses, villas and apartments plus a 36-room residential aged care facility. There will also be community facilities, public and private outdoor spaces and parklands.

Colliers International national director Henry Burke, who is selling the site with his colleagues Eugene White and Guillaume Volz, says the site will tap into Dural’s ageing population.

“Population growth in the 65-84 age group (in Dural) will increase by 95 per cent by 2036 which further highlights the requirements for quality seniors living and aged care housing in the local district,” he says.

A mix of townhouses, apartments and villas will be built.

Wirrabara Village will be built over three landholdings.

The listing ad describes the landholding as a never to be repeated opportunity in the Greater Sydney region due to recent changes in legislation that now prevent seniors development on Sydney metropolitan rural land.

White says because of this opportunity, the Dural landholding will be popular with residential developers, aged care and seniors living operators and developers.

“It’s incredibly rare to find a large parcel of land with DA approval close to shops but away from main roads and thoroughfares in such a serene setting,” he says.

The DA also provides the purchaser with multiple staging opportunities and the opportunity to capture a wide buyer pool.

This article from The Daily Telegraph originally appeared as “Wirrabara Village senior housing development for sale with DA for 136 residences”.