Why a family of three chose to buy a brand new apartment at Grand Reve in Castle Hill

Published by domain.com.au
▲ September 2021

A new ‘resort-style’ residential development in Sydney’s Hills District has attracted a young family of three from the lower north shore.

When Mariam Alkhal and partner, Vladas Genys, were looking for a new place to call home, Castle Hill wasn’t initially on their radar. But that all changed when a family member told them about a new development taking shape in one of the suburb’s most sought-after spots. Located in a quiet cul-de-sac opposite the heritage-listed Garthowen mansion in the heart of Castle Hill, Grand Reve will include 196 high-quality apartments and is the latest project to be created by award-winning Kassis Homes in collaboration with Turner architects.
▲ Vladas Genys, Mariam Alkhal, and their 11-year-old son, Andrej.

Spread over two towers – one 12-storey and the other 16-storey – the apartments have been designed with discerning buyers in mind and the sales campaign has already attracted plenty of attention from local downsizers, some investors and professionals, like Alkhal and Genys.

The couple and their 11-year-old son, Andrej, are currently renting in Wollstonecraft in Sydney’s lower north shore but have bought a spacious double-storey, three-bedroom corner apartment on the ground floor of Grand Reve. Their new home will come with a study, 2.5 bathrooms, a courtyard and two entrances – one of them leading directly to car parking.

“We hadn’t given Castle Hill consideration but we saw the display suite and the model of how Grand Reve will look and that made up our mind. It’s a well thought-out estate and it’s not built for capacity, it’s designed for people who want to have a nice lifestyle. It has a resort-style feeling about it,” says Alkhal.

▲ The landscaped podium gardens will be dotted with seating pods and secluded resident dining areas.

“I love apartment living and our two-storey apartment is more like a townhouse. We are a family of three and that may grow in a couple of years but the apartment will allow for that. We will have plenty of space, including a place for myself and my partner to work from home.”

Alkhal says the wrap-around courtyard and kitchen are two of her favourite spaces. “I will have a walk-in pantry and I’m already looking on Pinterest to see how I will theme that,” she says.

▲ The family have bought a ground floor apartment at Grand Reve.
“We love to cook and entertain and the appliances are all top-shelf brands – they will withstand the test of time and they will withstand me as I can be a bit clumsy at times!”

Grand Reve’s two towers will connect at the podium level and offer views across to Sydney CBD and the outlying Hills district. The landscaped podium gardens will be dotted with seating pods and secluded resident dining areas – the perfect spot for an informal lunch or a quiet mid-morning coffee.

The development is being carefully landscaped by Arcadia with 2,300 square metres of tree groves and terraced landscaped areas making it easy for residents to forget that they are only a few minutes’ walk from Castle Hill Station and the connection to the Sydney metro line.

Residents can arrive at Chatswood Station in 30 minutes and Sydney CBD is a convenient 34-minute drive away. “Residents will also be able to make the most of Castle Towers – a shopping mall with cinemas, restaurants and major department stores.

There are plans afoot to expand the mall and transform it into a destination shopping precinct that will be one of the best and biggest in the southern hemisphere,” says Adam Sparkes, associate director of McGrath Projects.
Sparkes says the size of the apartments, their modern, open-plan design and the calibre of the fittings and fixtures, such as Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances in the kitchens, is seeing strong interest from locals and Sydneysiders from further afield. Timber veneer paneling, quality joinery, engineered oak flooring and PARISI tapware are standard.

Adam Sparkes, associate director at McGrath Real Estate, says Grand Reve will appeal to buyers looking for quality luxury living at a far better price than comparable established urban hubs across Sydney, such as St Leonards, Chatswood or Macquarie Park.

“Apartments at Grand Reve are extremely well priced, ranging from $560,000 for a garden studio and going up to around $1,825,000 for the largest 262 sqm three-bedroom design,” says Sparkes.

▲ Grand Reve is located in a quiet cul-de-sac opposite the heritage-listed Garthowen mansion in the heart of Castle Hill.
Studios with a garden are available from $560,000, one-bedroom homes start at $655,000, entry-price two-bedrooms are available from $835,000 and the most expensive three-bedroom apartment costs $1.975 million. “The quality of inclusions is such that if you lifted this building and put it in Neutral Bay or Rushcutters Bay the square metre rate would triple. It’s a development you’d expect to find in the lower north shore precincts. Nothing like this has been offered in the Hills area before,” says Sparkes.



▲ This article was originally published on domain.com.au in September 2021. Click here to view the original article.

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