Price Is Right, Come On Down To Karoo
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday July 5, 1996
IT'S NOT often that new property comes up in Bondi, so when a development within the price range of the middle market emerges, it generally excites interest.
The former Dover Heights squash courts site at North Bondi has been transformed into a 16-apartment block by the developer Siena Corporation.
Siena, headed by a former Lend Lease executive, Mr Phillip Bartlett, has so far sold three of the 16 apartments offered in the development to be called The Karoo.
Siena is associated with the consortium of investors which bought part of the former Jury Group's Clock Hotel site in Surry Hills earlier this year, and some years ago produced a similar apartment development at Telegraph Road, Pymble.
Siena bought the Karoo site from Mr Keith Hunter, after the closure of the squash courts 18 months ago, for an undisclosed sum.
The Karoo, which Siena expects to complete for occupation within the next month, includes three one-bedroom apartments, five one- bedroom apartments with an extra room and eight two- bedroom apartments with dining areas.
The apartments, on the fringe of North Bondi in Hardy Street, close to Dover Heights, start at $245,000 for the one-bedroom units and $355,000 for the two-bedroom units.
Mr Bartlett describes The Karoo as a development designed to meet the market and provide an affordable entry into the tight Bondi housing market.
The development is some distance from the hubbub of Bondi Beach life, but the developer believes it provides some seclusion for those people after a quieter lifestyle in the area.
Karoo, which is a South African word meaning a dry highland with views, has been designed by the former Phillip Cox architect Peter Reed.
The one-bedroom units have an average floor area of 52 to 53 square metres, while the two-bedroom units are up to 82 square metres.
All have either a balcony or a garden courtyard.
The apartments come with wool carpeting and Kitchens include granite benchtops, Dishlex dishwashers and Blanco stainless steel cooking appliances and range hoods.
All the apartments have direct level lift access and security undercover parking.
Charles & Stuart's Glen McLachlan is marketing the development. He said he expected the bulk of buyers would be owner- occupiers and locals, but with Bondi rents among Sydney's highest at $250 a week for a standard two-bedroom unit, the developer is also hoping to win over the investment market.
Mr McLachlan said the one-bedroom units were expected to command rents of up to $270 a week and the two-bedroom units $400, reflecting the average residential investment yield of about 6 per cent.
The development will also be a test of Bondi buyers' ability to forego beach views to grab a part of one of Sydney's hottest residential markets.
The apartments have views to the west over Bellevue Hill and as far as the Harbour Bridge.
The only identifiable competing development is a 12-apartment site on the corner of Beach Road and Glenayr Avenue, which is offering slightly pricier units starting at $280,000 for a one-bedroom unit close to Bondi Beach.
© 1996 Sydney Morning Herald