Sydney developer Billbergia Group, backed by Metrics Credit Partners, is pursuing a $1.3 billion, twin-tower apartment project at Chatswood on the lower north shore that will deliver more than 550 units if approved, taking advantage of new planning rules to double the scope of the original project.
When Billbergia took over the site three years ago, it came with an approval for two towers no higher than 26 floors. Under the state significant development application process designed to fast-track major housing projects, Billbergia has dramatically upsized its ambition for the site.
NSW’s Housing Delivery Authority is now assessing Billbergia’s proposal for two towers of 58 storeys and 60 storeys, doubling the development’s end value.
“It’s been through an evolution of planning,” Billbergia development director Saul Moran told The Australian Financial Review. “We’ve been collaborating with [PBD Architects] to build on the existing scheme to see the height increase to what’s on exhibition today.”
That evolution has taken the Chatswood project from a development application with the local council, to a 36-storey infill affordable housing proposal under the state’s accelerated pathway to the project now before the HDA.
If approved, the Chatswood development could be completed by 2031 and deliver 552 apartments, along with retail and commercial space. A swimming pool, sauna, steam room and rooftop barbecue area, as well as an indoor gym, yoga facilities and a virtual golf room are all part of the plan. It is to be known as Chatswood Grand Residences. Apartment prices in the development are expected to start from $1.2 million.
The project is the fourth project that Billbergia and Metrics – one of the country’s largest non-bank lenders – have collaborated on.
The pair is also pursuing a two-tower, residential development with an end value of about $3 billion on Pitt Street in Sydney’s CBD, overlooking Hyde Park.
Metrics has been the lender for several of Billbergia projects, including a $2.2 billion residential and retail precinct in Sydney’s inner west, a 668-apartment Rhodes Central development on the fringe of Sydney’s inner west and a commercial project at 88 Walker Street in North Sydney – the home of data centre operator AirTrunk.
“Metrics has a strong track record of investing in landmark mixed-use developments that are both transformational for local communities and supportive of our nation’s aspiration to improve housing supply,” Metrics group chief executive and managing partner Andrew Lockhart said in a statement.
Developers are facing the prospect of higher construction costs. Rising construction labour and materials costs helped drive last week’s underlying inflation higher, from 3.4 per cent to 3.6 per cent in May.
Nevertheless, Moran said Billbergia had an early works approval under assessment for the Chatswood project, which would help the developer get on to construction as soon as possible to mitigate any long-term cost rises.
“Billbergia also build our own products, so we’ve got in-house construction teams, and that really helps us control costs and mitigates the escalation a little bit better as well,” he said.
The development is expected to generate up to $80 million in contributions to state and local government infrastructure.
Construction is expected to start in late 2026 if plans are approved.
Article by Sarah Petty from Australian Financial Review on 30 June 2026
