Investment and funds management group Realside, best known for its commercial property investments, is seeking to enter the seniors living sector with a major redevelopment project.

Keylan Consulting has lodged a planning application with Lane Cove Council on Realside’s behalf, seeking approval to convert a five-level office building on the Pacific Highway in Greenwich – 7km northwest of Sydney’s CBD – into a 10-storey seniors living complex.

Realside plans to transform the existing office structure by adding five levels to deliver 48 luxury strata apartments in a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom configurations. Amenities are set to include a ground-floor movie theatre, pool, sauna, fitness studio, a library, wine room, private dining spaces, and barbecue areas for residents' use.

However, the proposal does face serious hurdles. A planning clause stipulates that consent must not be granted for the subdivision of a building if development is carried out on land in a commercial centre zone. The site sits 700m west of St Leonards Town Centre.

This restriction “acts as a major disincentive to the development of the site”, according to Keylan, which is asking for an amendment to the Lane Cove Local Environmental Plan to add seniors housing as an additional permitted use on the site. Keylan wants the Council to support the proposed amendments and refer the Planning Proposal to the State Government's Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, for review and subsequent issue of a Gateway determination. 

Realside acquired the site at 170 Pacific Highway in 2020 as an income-generating office asset, revising its strategy early on to adaptively reuse the site. According to Cotality’s RP Data, it was sold for $42 million.