Is Not For Profit’s $2.5B development the sector’s most expensive ever?
BaptistCare’s amended State Significant Development Application to redevelop its site in Macquarie Park, 13km northwest of Sydney’s CBD, has been approved by the NSW Government.
The development cost for the Not For Profit, which made an underlying surplus for 2025 of $15 million, is slightly over $2.5 billion. The Weekly SOURCE was unable to identify an operator that has spent more on a single project.
The masterplan for a mixed-use precinct will comprise six development lots and will deliver homes and care for an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 residents of all ages.
What has been approved
Homes and care for an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people of all ages
- 12 towers ranging from 13 to 25 storeys in height;
- Seniors housing including 432 Independent Living Units and 214 residential care facility beds;
- 911 residential dwellings;
- 197 affordable housing units;
- 317 co-living rooms;
- commercial premises;
- a centre-based childcare facility;
- a health services facility; and
- parks, roads and pedestrian connections.
The Not For Profit has heralded the decision as a landmark moment and the culmination of a planning journey that began in 2020.
BaptistCare NSW & ACT first revealed a $1.9 billion masterplan to transform the Macquarie Park Village into a mixed-use site in July 2022. The site currently houses three aged care homes – Dorothy Henderson Lodge, Cooinda Court and the Shalom Centre – and one retirement village, Willandra, which has closed.
The original masterplan had to be revised to address the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure’s preliminary assessment, agency advice and submissions, including one made by City of Ryde Council. A proposed school has been removed from the final plan.
“This is not just a development. It is a demonstration of what happens when you hold firm to a vision, listen deeply to your community, and have a determination to persist,” BaptistCare Chief Executive Officer Charles Moore said.
Throughout the planning process, BaptistCare partnered with BVN, TSA Riley and
Colliers Urban Planning to design, refine and submit the development plan.
“Projects of this scale and complexity are few and far between. Guiding the planning of a $2.5 billion, high-density, multi-use precinct through the NSW planning systems from early visioning through to approval, has required agility, technical depth and persistence at every stage,” Daniel West, Director of Planning at Colliers Urban Planning, said.
“The integration of affordable housing, seniors living, aged care, co -living, market housing, retail and a publicly accessible one-hectare park sets a new standard for site renewal and high-density precinct creation with a social purpose.”
There will be no immediate changes on site for residents of BaptistCare’s existing aged care homes, as work continues to obtain the required planning approvals for each phase and building in the masterplan.
