The Australian arm of Sentinel Real Estate and its backer, Dutch pension fund manager PGGM have purchased a site for Sentinel’s sixth build-to-rent project in Australia.
Sentinel Fund Manager Australia has acquired a 6,528sqm site at 23-47 Villiers Street in North Melbourne to develop 350 rental apartments in two buildings.
Keith Lucas, Sentinel’s managing director in Australia, said: “This is a meaningful opportunity to deliver a significant boost in housing choice for an area that will support this rapidly-growing health and education precinct and, more broadly, Melbourne’s housing needs.”
Jikke de Wit, senior director, private real estate at PGGM, said: “We primarily invest on behalf of those who work in the health sector, so we are very pleased that our investment in this project will support the creation of quality and low-carbon housing that is well-positioned to benefit other healthcare professionals, while generating healthy long-term returns for our clients.”
The acquisition lifts Sentinel’s total pipeline in Australia to more than 1,600 rental units under various stages of development or operation.
In August last year, PGGM formed a partnership with US-based Sentinel Real Estate to develop and manage up to A$1.5bn in build-to-rent communities in Australia.
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