$150 million sale to reshape Sydney’s east – realestate.com.au

A $150 million sale has been held in Sydney’s east, which will benefit a certain group in the community.

The sale of five houses and two blocks of units at 33-37 Dover Rd and 2-30 Wilberforce Ave Rose Bay was the work of Alex Lyons, former rugby league player turned real estate mogul, in collaboration with his Raine and Horne Double Bay colleague Dean Power and director Ric Serrao.

News of the sale first appeared on Million Dollar Listing Sydney, with drone footage of the massive site.

But the buyer is a mystery.

When contacted, Lyons remained tight-lipped: “Sorry, I can’t talk about it, I signed a non-disclosure agreement,” was his only comment.

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Alex Lyons is a former rugby league player who now sells $300 million worth of real estate a year. Pictured in one of his listings, a waterfront property in Potts Point. Photo: Jonathan Ng

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Still other sources report that the buyer is Graeme Skerritt, owner of Pathways Aged Care, and it is believed he plans to build a luxury facility on the 3,000 sq m combined site.

Mr Skerritt has been contacted for comment.

Pathways currently operates three luxury retirement homes in Sydney: in Northbridge Killara and Cronulla.

The Pathways Residences website advises: “We offer a wide range of services from residential aged care, respite and luxury lifestyle options to person-centred palliative care and a range of memory support for people diagnosed with dementia.”

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From left to right: Managing Director of Pathways Residences Graeme Skerritt and Urban Concepts Community Consultation Manager Belinda Barnett, at Pathways, Retirement Village on Sailors Bay Road, Northbridge. Photo: John Appleyard

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The properties to be demolished include an older-style home on a 602-square-metre block at 26 Wilberforce Ave, which cost the owners $1.32 million in 1998; another on a 557 m² block at 28 Wilberforce Ave that cost $685,000 in 1993 and a more modern four-bedroom home on a 544 m² block at 30 Wilberforce Ave that cost $4.65 million in 2017.

20 Wilberforce Ave is a block of six individual owners in an older style apartment building.

Records show the houses on Dover Rd included Mary Kapos, who bought the three-bedroom house on a 477 square meter block at 33 Dover Rd in 1978 with her late husband, shop owner Spiro Kapos, for an undisclosed sum.

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3There are two apartment blocks on the site. Image: Million dollar listing.

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There is also a block of flats with four individual owners, all of whom were enticed to sell.

Since zoning changes announced in February encouraged residential redevelopment for apartment development close to amenities, there has been a surge in sales of consolidated sites in the city, especially in the east and around Mosman.

A six-storey building with a maximum height of 22 meters is possible at this location.

The Raine and Horne team also sold the merger site next door to apartment developer Fortis for $75 million.