Arada secures go-ahead for $436 Sydney residential community

UAE-based master developer Arada has received approval for its AED1.6 billion ($436 million) Wattle Green residential community in Castle Hill, thus marking the group's second major planning consent in Australia within weeks.

The development will deliver 445 residences across three buildings on a site of more than 14,000 sq m in Castle Hill's Showground Precinct, diagonally opposite Hills Showground Metro Station. 

The approval from the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure follows Arada's recent consent for London Place in Campsie and represents another significant milestone in the group's expansion across Sydney, reinforcing its long-term commitment to delivering high-quality residential communities in well-connected locations, said Arada in a statement.

Designed by leading Australian architecture practice Turner, with landscape architecture by Arcadia, Wattle Green will comprise 54 one-bedroom, 272 two-bedroom, 83 three-bedroom and 36 four-bedroom residences, including 25 affordable homes. 

The development will feature a 25-storey residential tower, the tallest approved building in the Showground Precinct, complemented by two lower-rise buildings designed to integrate with the surrounding neighbourhood, it stated.

Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Group CEO of Arada, said: “When we entered Australia, we knew we were committing for the long term, as genuine believers in the country’s cities and the people who live in them. Castle Hill is our second major approval in Sydney in a matter of months, and we are pushing ahead with our pipeline of projects at a time when we know delivery in this market demands real conviction.”

“Castle Hill is one of Sydney’s most established and desirable residential communities, and Wattle Green presents an exciting opportunity to bring our approach to community-focused development to a location that combines exceptional connectivity with an established lifestyle offering,” he stated.

Arada entered Australia in 2024 and has since assembled a pipeline of more than 6,000 homes. 

Globally, the developer has a project pipeline valued at more than AED185 billion and a portfolio of more than 70,000 homes across the UAE, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Syria, he added.