The long-standing Mandarin Centre’s food court serves value-for-money Asian food, while the shopping centre has discount stores like TK Maxx, a Strike Bowling alley and Hoyts Cinemas.
The developers are promising to improve existing retail facilities and the outside area around the centre, which is a few minutes’ walk from Chatswood’s rail and metro stations.
Chicago-based architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), known for projects like Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and New York’s One World Trade Centre, have designed the tower.
The proposal has been deemed a state-significant development due to its proximity to transport and capacity to deliver a huge number of new homes, including 5 per cent of dwellings being allocated for affordable housing.
Meanwhile, shopping mall owner Vicinity Centres is accelerating plans to develop upmarket apartments at Sydney’s Chatswood Chase centre, taking advantage of its considerable real estate footprint to meet strong housing demand.
Willoughby Council, in which Chatswood is located, has a target of building 3400 new homes by 2029 as part of the National Housing Accord that aims to build 1.2 million in five years.
The federal housing plan aims to put pressure on state governments and councils to build more homes in the hopes that the supply of new homes will catch up with the demand, a mismatch that’s pushed Sydney’s median dwelling price to $1.29 million.
Mandarin Developments director Eduard Litver said the lodgement marks a pivotal moment for a site that has long played a central role in Chatswood CBD.
“The Mandarin Centre has occupied a prominent position in Chatswood CBD for decades, but it has long been clear that the site was underutilised given its strategic location and excellent connectivity,” he said.
“The site has been subject to a long and complex planning history, with multiple proposals and approvals considered over time. However, this proposal represents a carefully considered design that will unlock the site’s full potential and contribute meaningfully to Chatswood’s future as a major residential and employment precinct.”
Metis Group director Arian Galanis said their commitment to design excellence has shaped the proposal to be something the group is immensely proud of.
“This marks a major step forward in transforming this key site and realising a shared vision for Chatswood CBD, delivering well-located housing, improved public spaces, better access and a revitalised retail precinct,” Galanis said.
SOM design partner Scott Duncan said his team was drawn to the project because of its potential to deliver a design that adds genuine and lasting value to the surrounding precinct.
“The project presented an opportunity to enhance how an established Chatswood site engages with the Chatswood CBD,” Duncan said, of the plans that were designed with Urbis.
“The design reimagines the ground plane as a more open and connected part of the district, improving access to surrounding streets, transit, and a renewed retail precinct via a porous, human-scaled podium. Above, the tower is shaped with undulating setbacks and gentle curves, allowing density to be introduced while protecting solar access and the quality of the public realm.”
If the project is approved, construction is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2027.
The boost in housing comes as off-the-plan apartments for a 118-unit project in Bondi Junction have hit the market from developer Stargate Property, increasing the number of homes available in Sydney’s highly desirable eastern suburbs.
The upper levels of the $400 million north-facing development called Signature Bondi Junction have Sydney Harbour views, and it is near Westfield, the bus and rail interchange and Centennial Park. The apartment sales are targeted at downsizers.