Novus on Albert: build-to-rent apartments in Chatswood

The Independent Planning Commission approved the development on 17 July 2025. A modification approved in March 2026 increased the apartment count from 198 to 199 and reduced the ground-floor retail area.

What’s planned

Novus will operate the rental apartments. Planned resident facilities include a swimming pool, gym, wellness areas, co-working spaces, a rooftop lounge and an outdoor terrace. These are residential amenities; the ground-floor retail provides the development’s separate commercial space.

The development consent does not approve the detailed fit-out or operation of the retail premises. Those uses will need separate approvals where required.

Binah lists expected completion as Q2 2029, consistent with Novus’s mid-2029 forecast. This remains a delivery target rather than a confirmed opening date.

Existing site

The redevelopment includes the former Chatswood Fire Station at 767 Pacific Highway. Completed in 1899 and opened on 14 February 1900, the locally heritage-listed building was later converted to retail use. Its original lookout tower had already been removed before the redevelopment was proposed.

Novus reported that early site works and demolition were underway in March 2026. The approved scheme allows the existing buildings, including the former fire station, to be demolished.

How the fire station will be remembered

The approved heritage approach uses a mesh structure to represent the former fire station’s façade, with salvaged materials where possible and information explaining its history. It does not preserve the original building.

Consent conditions require photographic recording before demolition, measures to protect materials intended for reuse, and a detailed heritage interpretation strategy developed in consultation with council.

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