The NSW Government has launched an Expressions of Interest (EOI) campaign seeking parties interested in buying and developing a 3,301-square-metre parcel next to the Royal North Shore Hospital. Developers will be required to deliver up to 448 new apartments, including 67 affordable housing apartments targeting key workers at the Royal North Shore Hospital.
The Key Highlights listed on the State Government’s tender page include:
“The property is located at 1 Reserve Road, St Leonards (to be known as Lot 4B Herbert Street, St Leonards following a current subdivision process).
Lot 4B Herbert Street is a commanding and iconic Transport Oriented Development (TOD) opportunity on Sydney’s Lower North Shore.
Located adjacent to the Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) Campus, the site is central to the medical precinct and key transport interchanges, providing fast and efficient connections to key employment and entertainment precincts. The location is perfectly positioned to provide high-quality housing and key worker housing in a high-amenity area and with excellent public transport connections.”
Land Rezoned in November 2024
The land is zoned MU1—Mixed Use, which allows for developing a residential tower above a commercial base.
The land was approved for rezoning as part of the Crows Nest Transport Oriented Development rezoning proposal (TOD) introduced in November 2024.
The NSW State Government believes activating the dormant site will create much-needed housing near the Royal North Shore Hospital precinct.
The land was assessed as surplus to the Government’s needs and suitable for housing as part of the NSW Government’s statewide Land Audit. The audit identifies unused government land that can be repurposed for housing delivery to help ease the state’s housing crisis. So far, it has identified sites capable of delivering over 8,500 new homes.
History of Controversy
This is not the first time a NSW state government has tried to sell off land in this area.
Land sale within the Royal North Shore Hospital precinct has its controversies.
In 2021, the then-liberal NSW Government proposed to develop a 45-storey mixed-use development with up to 500 apartments, commercial offices, retail, short-term accommodation, and a new school.
In 2021, Willoughby City Council released a press release stating that it would write to the Premier of NSW and other key ministers requesting that the state government cease its proposal to develop the Herbert St Precinct at Royal North Shore Hospital and preserve its lands for future hospital growth.
This parcel of land is the only one within the Willoughby City Council LGA impacted by the TOD rezoning.
In September 2021, the Sydney Morning Herald published an article in which doctors and residents expressed their concerns over the proposed tower.
The article included the following:
“But Bruce Cooper, chairman of the RNSH Staff Medical Council, said doctors were concerned about the development, given the significant loss of prime public land being essentially used for private development”.
“We support the concept of more schools and key worker accommodation, although we do not think that this should be done to the detriment of our future health care needs,” he said.”
The expression of interest advertising does not mention a proposed school in the new development.
The community group SAVERNSH has been very vocal about the need to keep the land for hospital expansion.
They posted the following on their Facebook page on 22nd October 2024:
“According to their website, there is still little transparency into state government’s decision making process related to Royal North Shore Hospital land transferred out of the Health portfolio into planning. The community is aghast that proposals for increased housing and higher density living does not include planning for future clinical services. Land at Royal North Shore Hospital (defined as Lot 4B) should not be used for commercial and residential development or folded into the TOD (Transport Oriented Design) process…. it should be used for future clinical health services. The latest timetable indicates the people who own the land (ie the citizens of NSW) will not find out what is happening till Q4, 2024…. Any minute??”
Despite these concerns, the government maintains that the land in question is surplus to its needs and that its development for housing is necessary to address the critical housing shortage in Sydney. They emphasize the inclusion of some affordable housing, particularly for key workers, as a significant benefit of the project. The coming months will likely see continued debate and scrutiny as this project progresses.
What Next?
The EOI process will close on 15 May 2025.
The EOI is the first step in a selection process, and it aims to identify suitable candidates before formal proposals for purchase are invited for consideration.
Further information on the EOI is available here.
Cover Image Source: Colliers.
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