Deicorp Digs Deep on $874m East Zetland Precinct

Spread across 2.87ha of bare earth, the scale of Deicorp’s inner-south Sydney site makes the imminent four-storey dig hard to grasp. Harder still is imagining The Avenues—a nine-building, $874-million mixed-use precinct at Joynton Avenue, East Zetland—soon to rise from one of the last major development sites in the area. At a sod-turning this week, those behind the project marked more than just the start of construction. It became a call for legacy—and a rare moment of philosophical reflection. Angelo Candalepas, lead architect on four of the buildings, didn’t speak of yield, height or timelines. He spoke of Responsibility. Permanence. Memory. “The question for me is, ‘What will we leave behind? ’, ” he said. “What is the place that people will live in? What is the place that will hold their lives, their memories, the things they love, the things they worship?” He believes The Avenues will respond—with 574 apartments across build-to-sell, build-to-rent and purpose-built student housing. ▲ Deicorp’s 2.87ha East Zetland site, soon to drop four storeys for basement works, is among the last major development parcels in Sydney ’ s inner south. The latter is being delivered in partnership with Scape to support students, key workers and long-term renters in a high-demand, inner-city market. The plans also include 800sq m of retail and commercial space designed to foster a village-like environment, $16 million in public domain upgrades, and a $28.1-million affordable housing contribution to the City of Sydney. Four levels of basement excavation are imminent. Four kilometres from the CBD, the site sits beside Gunyama Park and is a short walk from Green Square Station—within Sydney’s rapidly evolving inner-south. It also neighbours Meriton’s Epsom Park megaproject— a visible and aural hive of cranes and construction—and offers future connectivity to the Waterloo Metro Station. ▲ Render of The Avenues’ ground-floor retail, designed to fit with a village-style streetscape. Candalepas Associates’ competition-winning design comprises composed brick forms arranged around courtyards and gardens. “We sought something eternal,” Candalepas said. “Something in the lives of humans upon this earth for centuries.” The reference point, he said, was the ancient citadels of Ur and the East—early cities built from clay and modest materials that, together, shaped entire civilisations. “These places were made of little things, bits of clay, made into bricks,” he said. “And they came together in a big way to make corners of cities that would stand for centuries.” Three boutique-scale buildings were designed by architecture firm FK, composed in brick with landscaped gardens. Candalepas credited Deicorp founder Fouad Deiri for backing architecture grounded in meaning, not just delivery. “I find it easy to work with Fouad because I can say these things and he understands them,” he said. ▲ Angelo Candalepas speaks at The Avenues sod-turning ceremony, calling for architecture grounded in legacy, not just yield. He said Deicorp is the only housing developer his practice is currently working with “because the values brought to the table are the ones we hold dear”. “An architect brings something to this equation which this particular developer actually prizes, like no one I have ever worked with in my 30 years of work.” Deiri, who founded Deicorp in 1999, said The Avenues continues the company’s mission to build homes rooted in community and supported by good design. “We’ve worked closely with some of the best design minds in the country to create a neighbourhood that offers more than just apartments,” he said. “It offers a lifestyle grounded in connectivity, comfort and character.” The precinct is expected to generate 2700 construction jobs during the course of the build and follows Deicorp’s delivery of more than 700 apartments in the Green Square area. ▲ Render of a private terrace at the East Zetland precinct. It also adds to the company’s growing inner-urban pipeline, including Tallawong Village, Five Ways at Crows Nest and Castle Hill’s Showground Pavilions. The ceremony closed with a blessing from Fr Nabil Kachab of St George Cathedral, Redfern—continuing a tradition Deicorp has upheld across multiple project commencements. “Keep to meekness, keep working and keep on elevating all this building in the name of those who are in need,” Fr Kachab said. “Those who are wanting to stay, and a home that you provide with love and with grace.” FK partner Craig Baudin described the studio’s three buildings as a benchmark for inner-urban, medium-scale infill. “These boutique buildings each have their own identity, set in a tree-lined boulevard on Zetland Avenue,” he said. “This community offers a compelling model for what inner-city development in Sydney could look like.”

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ResidentialVanessa CrollWed 18 Jun 25

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