ALAND Wins Cherrybrook Tender Amid Rezoning Push

Cherrybrook Metro Station is to be transformed into a bustling village centre after developer ALAND won the tender to produce a 410-home precinct.

Meanwhile, state government planning is under way for a significant densification of the entire suburb, including heights on the ALAND site to grow by more than 450 per cent. 

The 3.96ha site next to the station, 21km north-west of the Sydney CBD, has been awarded to ALAND by Landcom, with a vision to produce a transit-oriented, mixed-use neighbourhood including half a hectare of public open space, retail and amenity.

Up to 410 homes are permitted under current zoning, which Landcom secured in December 2022, as well as buildings up to six storeys in height and 1.25:1 floor space ratio. 

But another rezoning process is under way and expected to result in development approval in 2027, with an eight-year staged delivery program to follow, according to ALAND.

The state-led Cherrybrook Precinct Rezoning Proposal includes 5200 new homes over the next 20 years within walking distance of the Metro station.

It would allow heights up to 28 storeys with FSR of 4:1 in the town centre won by ALAND. Buildings of up to 16 storeys, with FSR of 3.7:1, would also be allowed, with a gradual reduction to three storeys on the fringe of the wider precinct.

Public space in the town centre would be increased to 1.2ha, and canopy cover across the suburb would increase from 26 per cent to 40 per cent.

▲ Plans for the suburb’s growth have been evolving and upscaling since 2022.

Total capacity for 9350 new homes in the suburb was also included in the proposal, with the remainder projected for development after 2045. A 10 per cent affordable component in the town centre (and 5 per cent in surrounding areas) would yield 535 affordable homes.

Protection and expansion of the remnant Blue Gum High Forest in the area, through incorporation into public open space, is a key element of the proposal. Five new parks totalling 4.5ha were also proposed.

The area in the proposal is divided between the Hornsby and The Hills local government areas and controls, and the rezoning would unify some elements of planning, while maintaining separate standards in others.

Design excellence in parts of Cherrybrook that fall within The Hills would follow the Bella Vista and Kellyville transport-oriented development guidelines, while those in the Hornsby Local Environmental Plan would apply to other parts.

It’s yet another upsizing for the suburb, with an earlier Cherrybrook Place Strategy, finalised in 2022, calling for 3200 new homes by 2045.

Meanwhile, ALAND is continuing its spree of Central Coast activity, with the December opening of its Archibald project at Gosford.

The $375-million precinct hosts 323 homes and a 130-key hotel, as well as public spaces, dining and a swim-up bar. ALAND’s next Gosford project on the line, the 506-unit Amalfi, is planned for a 2026 opening.