[+] Ugly Duckling Suburb’s Transformation Throws Up Hurdles

The first steps to transform an industrial heartland into a residential hub on the doorstep of Sydney’s CBD have been taken with submissions closing for the Camellia-Rosehill Place Strategy. The initiative is a 20-year plan to redevelop an under-utilised, complex and toxic site that, nevertheless, has potential. The precinct includes the historically significant Rosehill racetrack. “The NSW government’s Camellia-Rosehill Place Strategy will feature a town centre and thousands of new homes that will be supported by infrastructure and public spaces,” says Tony Durante, Colliers’ national director of industrial. “This will be accompanied by a new urban services precinct as well as heavy industrial land that will ensure there is a broad mix of employment opportunities within the precinct.” The place strategy is zoned mixed-use, with an emphasis on urban renewal. ▲ The Camellia-Rosehill precint is 18km west of Sydney. As Jazmin van Veen, the acting director of the Greater Parramatta and Olympic Peninsula, told a recent online forum discussing the future of the precinct, there is an opportunity to create an integrated network of green infrastructure and complete the missing link along the Parramatta River to connect the Parramatta CBD through to Olympic Park. “The place strategy is also looking at improved road accessibility, which will enhance the productivity of both the current industrial uses and encourage employment growth,” she says. The self-contained, 300ha precinct is defined by clear borders—the Parramatta River to the north, Duck River to the east, the M4 to the south and James Ruse Drive to the west. The site will be crossed by the Parramatta light rail , which is key to opening up the precinct. The land includes the asbestos-contaminated Viva Energy site, a major hazard facility at the east of the precinct, which requires remediation. The precinct is at the heart of a massive program of infrastructure investment in western Sydney, accounting for approximately 90 per cent of future transport infrastructure funding that has been allocated by the NSW government to date. The $16.8-billion WestConnex road , a 33km underground motorway between Homebush and Kingsgrove, to be completed in 2023, is a crucial piece of infrastructure. ▲ A concept illustration of part of the landmark Camellia-Rosewood precinct. Assuming it is approved, the Camellia-Rosehill place strategy makes provision for a thriving town centre and a late-night entertainment precinct next to the existing Rosehill racecourse. The proposal details new public open spaces, including opening up the Parramatta river foreshore, as well as new schools. There will still be some heavy industrial land use on the site so as not to compromise the precinct's role as an industrial and employment hub. The NSW government estimates renewal of the precinct will create 14,500 jobs and lead to 10,000 new homes being built. The government says the plan takes a holistic approach to addressing the contamination of the Viva Energy site, and addresses the potential for land use conflict between industrial and residential uses. It guides future land use and infrastructure investment decisions across public and private use. The document includes a masterplan and draft land use framework, including planning controls that will be considered and refined should rezoning of the precinct progress. Professor of practice at the University of NSW Shane Geha says the rezoning of the Camellia-Rosehill precinct needs to be carefully managed so there is an agglomeration of commercial uses in the one precinct. “If not, the desired rents are usually not able to be achieved and, therefore, the precinct typically declines over time,” he said. ▲ Rosehill racecourse is included in the area under review. The Camellia-Rosehill site has numerous restrictions with which developers will have to grapple. For example, a significant volume of heavy vehicle traffic uses the precinct, but access is constrained by just two roads. As recent weather has demonstrated, the precinct is subject to flooding from the Parramatta River, the Duck River, Duck Creek and A'becketts Creek. Geha says these barriers should not be underestimated. “The water table and site contamination needs a detailed approach. The water table is very high in Parramatta,” he says. “This is a serious issue for both flooding and the travel of contaminants in the soil and subsurface rocks. This is typically treated by full removal from the site or sealed containment on-site under an open space area. Both have been done very successfully in the past on many projects.” ▲ There are considerable hurdles to overcome before the precint's transformation can come to fruition. Colliers’ Durante says it is a mistake to underestimate the scale of what’s required for access. “The largest barrier facing rezoning is that land that was formally zoned for heavy industrial purposes will require suitable remediation to qualify for an alternative and rezoning.” He says transport is the main planning constraint, although this is being resolved with improved connections, including light rail and road upgrades scheduled to be incorporated into the development. While the development strategy is comprehensive, there are many problems to address as the rezoning of this site progresses. How these are solved, and the success or otherwise of this landmark proposal, will be keenly watched across the property sector. You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

[+] Ugly Duckling Suburb’s Transformation Throws Up Hurdles

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