Empire Global Developments, Simunic Brothers submit plans for 300-unit project in Greenway

Empire Global Developments has submitted an application to demolish former government office Guilfoyle House and replace it with two apartment blocks, seven- and eight-storeys tall.

The proposed development at block 2 section 57 Greenway would include 299 residential apartments, six serviced apartments and one commercial space.

The total cost of works is more than $96 million, the application states.

Former Croatian footballer Josip Simunic and his brother Tomislav, who is the chief execvutive of Empire Global, are the owners of the site, through their company Simunic Brothers No 3 Pty Ltd.

The proposal is the second and final stage of the Guilfoyle House redevelopment.

Guilfoyle House was leased to the federal government until September 2015 and sold later that year for $4.4 million, CoreLogic records show.

Stage two was released for community consultation in March, which received "very minimal engagement from surrounding neighbours", Empire Global general manager Joe Tonkovic said.

The consultation report shows the main feedback was around how increased traffic would affect the area, parking concerns and the building height.

There had been a small reduction in the total number of apartments proposed - initially 318 - but other changes were minimal.

Mr Tonkovic said the inclusion of six serviced apartments would meet the requirement for commercial space along Anketell Street.

"We feel that there's an excess in retail and commercial which is unleased along Anketell Street," Mr Tonkovic said.

"Rather than building empty shells that'll sit there for we don't know how long until they get leased or sold, we've used serviced apartments as opposed to retail or commercial space, which sort ticks the box from a planning point of view."

The proposal also includes three levels of basement parking with a total of 371 car parking spaces.

The application seeks to vary the lease to increase the maximum number of units allowed for serviced apartments to 15 and to increase the multi-unit housing to a maximum of 431 units.

This lease variation would apply to the whole development, including the first stage, which is a build-to-rent complex with 146 units.

The recent $157.5 million sale of a build-to-rent apartment complex and retail centre in Dickson offered some insight into the value of the housing model.

Mr Tonkovic said there was potential for an investor to purchase and manage the rental component.

"If the numbers are right, there's always a potential to look at selling the entire [build-to-rent] development in one line," he said.

The period for representations on the stage two proposal closes on October 30.

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