أرادَ Secures Planning Approval for AED 1.6 Billion Wattle Green Apartment Project in Sydney's Castle Hill
أرادَ (Arada), the UAE-based master developer, has received planning approval for Wattle Green, a multifamily development in Castle Hill, Sydney, valued at AED 1.6 billion. The approval, announced Nov. 12, 2026, is the company's second major planning approval in Australia within weeks.
The New South Wales Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure granted the approval. Wattle Green will include 445 apartments across three buildings on a site of more than 14,000 square meters in the Hills Showground Precinct, opposite Hills Showground Metro Station. The project's value is equivalent to approximately A$650 million.
Wattle Green Project Details
The development will comprise one 25-storey tower and two lower-rise buildings. The tower is the tallest approved building in the Hills Showground precinct, and the two shorter buildings were designed to align with the surrounding built character, according to the announcement.
The apartment mix is:
- 54 one-bedroom units
- 272 two-bedroom units
- 83 three-bedroom units
- 36 four-bedroom units
Twenty-five of the apartments are designated as affordable housing. About 74% of the units have two or more bedrooms. The gross development value works out to roughly A$1.46 million per apartment, a development-value calculation rather than a sales price or construction cost.
Turner is the project's architect, and Arcadia is the landscape architect. أرادَ said the apartments were designed with larger floor areas to offer more comfort and flexibility than conventional apartments. The company expects the project to appeal to families, professionals and downsizers who want apartment living without giving up space or lifestyle.
Amenities and Location
Residents will have access to an outdoor pool, landscaped podium gardens, rooftop entertaining areas, a gym, wellness facilities, coworking spaces, private dining rooms and communal lounges. Each of the three buildings will include its own rooftop facilities for relaxing, hosting guests and meeting neighbors.
The site sits opposite Hills Showground Metro Station, which provides direct metro access to Norwest, Macquarie Park, North Sydney and the Sydney central business district. Castle Towers shopping centre is one metro station away. The project is also close to schools, shopping centres, restaurants, entertainment venues and business hubs in the Hills District.
Timeline and Sales Activity
Registrations of interest for Wattle Green were expected to open in November 2026. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2027, with completion targeted for the end of 2029.
Second Sydney Approval in Weeks
The Castle Hill approval follows the recent planning approval for London Place in Campsie, a 33-storey project with 156 apartments, including 18 affordable homes, and a gross development value of AED 560 million. Construction on London Place is targeted to start in the second quarter of 2027. Together, the two approvals give أرادَ 601 planned apartments in Sydney across two different submarkets: the Hills District in Western Sydney and Campsie in the inner southwest.
أحمد الخشيبي, Chief Executive Officer of the أرادَ group, said: "When we entered the Australian market, we knew our commitment to it would be long term, because we believe in the future of its cities. The approval of our Castle Hill project is the second major planning approval we have obtained in Sydney within a few months, and we continue to advance our projects under development at a time when we know that delivering projects in this market requires real conviction. Castle Hill is one of Sydney's most established and most attractive residential areas, and Wattle Green represents a promising opportunity to apply our approach to developing communities that put residents' needs at the heart of their priorities, in a location that combines ease of mobility with the amenities and services that meet the requirements of daily life."
Company Footprint and Market Context
أرادَ entered the Australian market in 2024 and has built a portfolio of more than 6,000 homes there. Globally, the company has projects under development valued at more than AED 185 billion and a portfolio of more than 70,000 homes across the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Pipeline figures cited in أرادَ's announcements have varied by release; an October announcement for London Place cited AED 171 billion.
Wattle Green reflects several development trends in Sydney's apartment sector: transit-oriented density next to a metro station, a high share of larger two- to four-bedroom apartments aimed at owner-occupiers and downsizers, amenity-led design, and the inclusion of affordable housing in a major scheme. The 25 affordable units account for about 5.6% of the apartment count.
With construction not expected to start until 2027 and completion targeted for late 2029, the project will not add to housing supply in the near term. At 445 apartments, Wattle Green is substantially larger than London Place and is the larger test of أرادَ's Australian strategy.
Sources
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