BILLIONAIRE Harry Triguboff has purchased a site at North Sydney to create a 27-storey block of serviced apartments worth $70 million.
The acquisition of the site at 80 Arthur Street by Mr Triguboff's company Meriton follows his purchase last week of a property at Zetland, 4km from Sydney's CBD, to spawn a $200m residential development.
The company launched its serviced apartments division six years ago and now has 2100 serviced apartments in 10 blocks -- seven in Sydney, two on the Gold Coast and one in Brisbane, with apartments up to seven years old.
Mr Triguboff, Meriton's founder and managing director, said occupancy rates were strong and apartment room rates were reasonable compared with those overseas. "This ability to be competitive, even with Asia, proves that we are in a very strong long-term position," he said.
Meriton was in the process of building a further 700 serviced apartments, which should be completed next year.
Most of the accommodation choices in North Sydney were ageing and of low standard, Mr Triguboff said.
The Arthur Street complex would have views spanning the harbour.
Concept plans have been lodged with the North Sydney Council and, once approved, Meriton would prepare a full development application, hoping to start construction next year.
Mr Triguboff, who sells up to 80 per cent of his apartments to Chinese investors, is targeting Sydney. He expected his new $200m development at Zetland would take the number of apartments built by Meriton along the suburb's South Dowling Street to 5500.
Meriton Apartments is likely to lodge a development application early next year to create five residential buildings between seven and 20 storeys high on the site.
Apartments at the new Zetland development would start at $550,000.
He made the purchase after the Chinese government relaxed lending regulations for the country's banks and with the likelihood that the NSW government was moving to speed up the processing of obtaining development approvals.
"The good thing is interest rates are coming down and the rents are going up," he said.
Meanwhile, at Meriton's former Channel Seven site in northern Sydney, Mr Triguboff said the group had sold 120 of the 130 units completed. In total, the site would have 800 apartments and Mr Triguboff said development of a further 200 on the site was under way.