Perifa’s $71m Midrise Returns to Council After Fast-Track Stall
A $71.5 million midrise apartment proposal at Cronulla has resurfaced at the Sutherland Shire Council after a bid for state-led assessment failed.
Sydney developer Perifa lodged plans with the council for two apartment buildings at 8 Gerrale Street and 1 Ozone Street, a corner site near the centre of Cronulla, about 400m from the train station.
The SJB-designed proposal would replace three ageing walk-up blocks with 48 apartments spread across two buildings.
Heights would step from six to eight storeys, with three basement levels below and vehicle access taken from Ozone Street.
Covering 2685sq m, the site sits within the R4 high-density residential zone, where apartment buildings are already permitted.
The development includes 5904sq m of floor space, hitting the 2.2:1 density cap now applying across much of Cronulla’s town centre.
Before returning to council, the project was pitched for state intervention.
An expression of interest was lodged in February 2025 under the Housing Delivery Authority, seeking a faster approval pathway and a rezoning to allow a uniform 30m height across the site.
The bid did not advance, according to planning documents. The proposal was not recommended to the minister and did not proceed under the HDA program.
With the state pathway closed, the project has come back as a standard council development application, assessed under local planning rules and state housing provisions, supported by height variations.
Under the revised scheme, Building A would contain 26 apartments, made up entirely of two and three-bedroom homes, stepping up along Gerrale Street.
Building B would deliver 22 apartments, including nine one-bedroom units, rising to seven storeys along Ozone Street.
Parts of the development would reach 27.4m, exceeding the 20m and 22m limits applying across different sections of the site.
The additional height sits mainly in rooftop plant, lift overruns and upper levels set back from the street.
Affordable housing does not form part of the proposal.
An earlier option testing the state’s affordable housing bonus—which would have allowed extra height and floor space—was explored but later dropped on feasibility grounds.
Parking was lifted from 80 to 94 spaces to meet council standards, spread across three basement levels, with visitor parking and bicycle storage.
Excavation would extend about 9.7m below ground.
The scheme sets aside 40 per cent of the site for landscaping, including 593sq m of communal open space.
Thirty-six trees would be removed and replaced with 10 medium canopy trees, delivering 24.6 per cent canopy cover.
Pre-lodgement meetings and a design review panel have already shaped the plans, prompting changes to setbacks, building form and apartment mix.
Cronulla’s apartment pipeline continues to move across multiple fronts, with projects now under construction alongside newer development applications.
Construction has begun on Sammut Group’s Vue project at 3-23 Kingsway, a 112-apartment mixed-use development incorporating retail and public domain works at the southern edge of the town centre.
The project remains on track for completion around mid-2026.
Further east, Sammut Group also began work in late 2024 on Palm, a nine-storey mixed-use project at 67 Gerrale Street, delivering 23 apartments above ground-floor retail.
Along Gerrale Street, recent applications have spanned a range of scales.
In 2023, TomTome Group lodged plans for a nine-storey, 18-apartment project at 79-81 Gerrale Street, adding to midrise development activity along the strip.
Nearby, North Sydney-based Gerdev Pty Ltd filed a proposal for a nine-storey residential shoptop at 97-105 Gerrale Street, with 30 apartments above ground-floor commercial space, alongside rooftop elements and heritage facade retention.
