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Young & Fennelly: the innovative housing collection with all you need at your door
Newmarket Randwick has made such a big impression that it’s easy to forget just four years ago the area was a horse sales yard, bringing the sounds – and unmistakable scents – of livestock to the neighbourhood on auction days.
The sights and sounds of the five-hectare site less than 10 minutes’ walk from Randwick’s main street could hardly be more different today.
In the morning, CaliPress and Cafe Mckenzie do a roaring trade among local residents, as well as workers from the Prince of Wales hospital precinct and the University of NSW. The new adventure playground, built within the frame of the old sales ring, elicits squeals of delight from children big and small. So does Gelato Messina.
At lunch and after dark, Baccomatto Osteria, Dumplings & Beer, RaRa Ramen, Ribs & Burgers and Sella Vinoteca are among the east’s hottest newcomers. Newmarket Randwick isn’t the only change in this neighbourhood since the last horse was traded in April 2017. The light rail finally opened after years of construction work, offering a smooth ride to Circular Quay via Surry Hills, Central and the CBD.
An ambitious expansion of the hospital precinct is also underway. Randwick’s median house price surged 26.5 per cent to $2.656 million in the five years to 2020. Apartment prices rose even more sharply, up 30.1 per cent to $1.013 million over the same period, according to Domain data.
Against this backdrop, the next stage of homes at Newmarket Randwick from developer Cbus Property is about to be released. Young & Fennelly comprises 116 apartments in a seven-storey Bates Smart-designed building described as “new deco” style. Eleven north-facing terrace homes are also available. Many of the upper-level apartments offer Botany Bay views. There’s a residents’ rooftop space on level four with barbecue areas and landscaped gardens. Inspired by the parkland setting at the doorstep, the design of the homes is defined by soft horizontal lines of curved white brickwork, contrasted against scalloped, bronze-coloured metal cladding. Inside, the aesthetic is informed by Newmarket Randwick’s grand outdoor spaces, taking on the texture and colour of local paperbark, tallowwood, gum and Moreton Bay fig trees. There are subtle nods to the history of the stables in the hardware, statement light fittings and palette of soft greens, whites and taupes.
Peter Kerras, director of project marketing at Colliers Residential, says Randwick has fantastic transport connections, great schools and easy access to the beaches.
“Randwick still has a village atmosphere, unlike Maroubra Junction or Bondi Junction, which are overdeveloped and poorly planned,” Kerras says.
“It offers the widest mix of demographics in the eastern suburbs, where students, doctors, tourists and tradespeople can all rub shoulders. It has a very unpretentious vibe, unlike other parts of the east.”
For downsizers, apartment choices in this part of Sydney are limited. Traditional red-brick, walk-up blocks don’t suit everyone.
The maintenance on old buildings can also be a turn-off.
“If you’re a downsizer and you want to sell your house but you don’t want to leave the area there aren’t many options unless you go to Coogee and pay $5 million to $6 million for something with an ocean view,” Kerras says.
“Or you can settle for an older unit which needs renovating and might have maintenance issues and won’t be as big.”
Many of the two- and three-bedroom apartments in the initial release have been snapped up by downsizers, a trend expected to continue with Young & Fennelly.
The generous interiors, high-end finishes, lift access, car parking and dining options are popular must-haves for this group.
The two-storey, strata-titled terrace houses are tipped to compete with Randwick’s older-style semis.
These new homes open directly onto the street and feature sunny living areas, light-filled courtyards and flexible floor plans, with a bedroom or study on the ground floor.
Cbus Property’s chief executive officer, Adrian Pozzo, says Young & Fennelly responds to a post-COVID lifestyle centred around family connection, open space, amenity and the joys of home.
“If anything has become evident in the wake of the pandemic, it is that people enjoy having all of their creature comforts in one place,” Pozzo says.
“Furthermore, homebuyers are looking for an increased level of open space and amenity in and around their homes. Young & Fennelly’s quiet park-side setting and proximity to the cafes and restaurants … reduce the need to venture too far from home.”
