Work to complete the three unfinished Skyview apartment buildings at Castle Hill, opposite Castle Towers, is set to start in the next few weeks after leading Australian developer and construction group ALAND was appointed to do the work.
ALAND has undertaken to complete the construction of the three buildings (which they refer to as Buildings C, D and E) at the site at 51-53 Old Castle Hill Road and to also rectify any potential defects in the existing shared basement.
The company, which has over 20 years experience in the industry, was selected by receivers KordaMentha who were appointed following the collapse of Toplace and its associated companies.
A spokesman for ALAND said site preparation and pre-construction activities had already begun. The work will take an estimated 16 months to complete depending on the weather and other factors.
Two buildings in the five-building development have been completed. The third is around 80 per cent complete, a fourth about 40 per cent and fifth about 25 per cent. ALAND will work closely with the Building Commission NSW while it gets the work done.
ALAND has a 100% completion rate of projects and was recently awarded an iCIRT Gold rating following a rigorous and independent review process to determine its capability, capacity and commitment.
According to its website it has 38 developments in NSW. Over 5,000 departments built, 1,708 departments under construction (including 405 apartments at Schofield Gardens) and 6,000 apartments being planned.
ALAND Founder and owner Andrew Hrsto said ALAND has a strong record of turning around challenging projects and transforming them into award-winning residential complexes in sought-after suburbs.
“ALAND maintains an end-to-end capability that uniquely positions us to take on these types of projects,” he said. “Both KordaMentha and the Building Commission NSW clearly recognise our strong reputation, the quality of our product and our expertise and we are excited to drive this entire complex to completion.”
The complete development will provide a total of 964 apartments housing 2500 people. When completed, buildings C, D and E at Castle Hill will be offered as Build to Rent homes and will increase rental property availability with 536 apartments providing much-needed rental housing for 1500 residents.
In June this year the Hills to Hawkesbury Community News carried a story saying a spokesman for The Hills Shire Council said that Building Commission NSW was working with receivers and managers to appoint a contract to complete the Hydra, Phoenix and Vela Towers.
Buyers were blocked from moving into the $900million apartment complex in 2021 after the NSW Building Commissioner confirmed “extensive signs of cracking” were discovered in the basement of the buildings.
Toplace run by Jean Nassif had its licence revoked in December, 2022. In May 2024 the Supreme Court wound up JKN Hills PTY Ltd which was the Toplace entity responsible for the remediation works.
