AUSTRALIA: IGLU has bought a 3,132 sq m site beside Victoria Cross Metro station in North Sydney for $86.94 million, moving former metro construction land toward private mixed-use redevelopment.

Northern entrance to Victoria Cross Metro station in North Sydney.
Northern entrance to Victoria Cross Metro station in North Sydney. Illustrative photo. Photo: PEPSI697, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Planning controls set the development envelope

The 52 McLaren Street property sits beside Victoria Cross Metro station’s northern entrance and is also within walking distance of North Sydney station. Its planning framework allows about 16,947 sq m of gross floor area across residential, commercial, retail and childcare uses.

The NSW Planning Portal lists Planning Proposal PP-2021-5024 as approved, with the planning change published on 26 September 2025. The proposal provides for part eight- and 24-storey mixed-use development and was developed around a concept containing about 172 apartments, a three-storey commercial podium and a ground-floor childcare facility. Those elements describe the planning envelope and concept work, not a confirmed IGLU design.

The controls set a maximum floor space ratio of 5.3:1 and a minimum non-residential ratio of 1:1. North Sydney Council separately adopted site-specific Development Control Plan provisions for 52 McLaren Street, effective from 13 June 2025, to give greater certainty about the envisaged built form.

Don’t miss…Porto Metro launches €690m operations concession tender

Former metro land moves to its next use

Sydney Metro acquired the property from Uniting for $162.5 million in 2017 as part of land assembly for Victoria Cross station. The $86.94 million resale price is therefore not a like-for-like comparison with the earlier acquisition, which included the strategic value of assembling land for the metro project before the current planning controls were established.

Sydney Metro’s integrated station development information identifies the northern entrance as opening to Miller and McLaren streets. That places 52 McLaren Street directly at the edge of the station precinct rather than simply within the wider North Sydney market.

The site is also subject to a voluntary planning agreement between Sydney Metro and North Sydney Council, executed in October 2025. It provides public benefits valued at about $12.5 million, including space for a future childcare centre, a pedestrianised link between McLaren and Elliot streets and affordable housing equivalent to up to 5 per cent of residential gross floor area for at least 10 years.

The sale transfers the former station-construction holding to IGLU, but the final project remains to be defined. The source does not confirm IGLU’s final design, construction timetable or exact accommodation mix.

News on railway transport, industry, and railway technologies from Railway Supply that you might have missed:

Don’t miss…Adif GSM-R Upgrade Tender Covers Spain’s High-Speed Rail