Controversial $1.2bn Sydney ‘Mini-City’ Under Scrutiny

Plans for a controversial $1.2-billion masterplanned “mini-city” near the Parramatta CBD are under the microscope. Tiberius, a diversified Western Australian group that has delivered large-scale masterplanned projects in Perth and Newcastle, wants to build a “self-sustaining” precinct at Holroyd in the Cumberland City Council local government area. The 37,877sq m vacant lot at 1 Crescent Street was once a site for WesTrac, one of the largest Caterpillar earthmoving equipment dealers in the world. Tiberius’s plans, on exhibition through the State Significant Development pathway, propose seven buildings of up to 37 storeys—four shoptop residential blocks and three residential-only towers. Buildings one to three would be between 25 and 37 storeys, integrated with a mixed-use podium building, while 19-storey building four will sit above a mixed residential and commercial space. The remaining buildings will be between 21 and 23 storeys. There would be 1227 apartments, of which 201 are allocated as affordable housing, as part of its infill affordable housing provision, in total. The plans also include 2500sq m of retail gross floor area (GFA), and 5000sq m of commercial GFA. ▲ A render of precinct proposed for 1 Crescent Street. Tiberius wants to create a precinct that “fosters a dynamic live-work-play lifestyle” with public parks and communal spaces, as well as above-ground parking for 1616 cars and 714 bikes. While basement parking is more standard in a development of this size, asbestos contamination from the site due to its industrial past would cost $274 million to remove, according to submitted documents. This would add an estimated $223,546 per unit, taking the average cost of an apartment to $1.2 million, “significantly exceeding the median unit value” and “making it economically unviable”, according to the application. The Crescent Parklands project had been “years in the making”, the application from Urbis said, requiring rezoning of the land from an industrial-employment zone to a mixed-use and high-density residential area. Rezoning for the site was approved in 2022, but it faced considerable opposition from a number of quarters, including the council. ▲ A render of the Woods Bagot-designed proposal. A council-run survey in 2020 of 270 respondents found that 85 per cent were not in favour of the proposal. An initial concept development application from 2023 was refused by Cumberland City Council, after which the proponent appealed to the Land and Environment Court, before withdrawing it. The plans were originally associated with ACE Property, the development arm of media entrepreneur Ryan Stokes, chief executive of Seven, according to media reports. It is unclear when the project changed hands. The development would be a major change for the small suburb of Holroyd, 20km from Sydney CBD, which as of 2021 had just 1248 residents. However, as part of the Cumberland LGA, the project would be responsible for 10 per cent of the 12,200 homes the council is required to deliver in the next five years under the NSW Government’s 377,000-home commitments to the National Housing Accord. The Urban Developer Property and Economic Outlook | For property development professionals in the Greater Sydney region. Click here

Controversial $1.2bn Sydney ‘Mini-City’ Under Scrutiny

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Controversial $1.2bn Sydney ‘Mini-City’ Under Scrutiny

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