DHL Gets Go-Ahead For West Sydney Shed

DHL, the American-founded and German-owned global logistics giant, has won approval for a 30,000sq m development on prime industrial land about 35km west of downtown Sydney.

The warehouse and distribution centre with a build-cost of $31.6 million becomes the second stage of the Gazcorp Industrial Estate—owned by the Sydney-based real estate and investment business, Gazcorp.

Gazcorp won approval for the 52-ha industrial estate with 14 separate building platforms in Horsley Park from the New South Wales independent planning commission in November, 2019.

DHL Supply Chain (Australia) struck a deal with Gazcorp about three years ago and will now revise some boundaries within the industrial estate to give it the 52,700sq m needed for the warehouse.

DHL lodged plans in March last year for what is considered a State Significant Development, and won approval from the Department of Land and Environment just a couple of days before Christmas.

DHL consulting project manager Jon Lindsay said they were waiting on civil works to be completed by Gazcorp but hoped to begin construction by April or May. If that happened the warehouse would be finished early next year.

The approval allows for the build and operation of an industrial warehouse with about 29,710sq m of floorspace, as well as offices across two levels with a total 1415 square metres. An internal access road needs to be built as well as parking for 196 cars.

▲ The Gazcorp Industrial Estate in Horsley. Land for industrial use is at a premium, right across the country.

When finished the warehouse—built almost entirely of steel and aluminium and finished with colourbond and aluminium cladding— will include 13 on-grade loading docks and 18 recessed docks.

Gazcorp Industrial Estate has 680m of frontage to Wallgrove Road which offers on and off-ramps from the Westlink M7 motorway, about a 1km  to the north. The M4 motorway is about 2.5km to the north.

Planners Ethos Urban, who lodged the application on behalf of DHL, said when completed the warehouse would be home to about 240 workers.

The industrial estate is now part of the Western Sydney Employment Area (WSEA), created by the NSW government in December, 2005. Four years later the government extended the 2450ha WSEA to add land around the Warragamba Dam to Prospect Reservoir water supply infrastructure, which included the industrial estate at Horsley Park.

Ethos urban said the WSEA had become a major industrial and urban services precinct—attracting local, national and international businesses—at a time when land suitable for industrial and logistics development is in short supply.

One industry leader told The Urban Developer last year Australia needed at least twice the industrial floor space as it is building if it was to keep up with growing demand.

In October industrial property giant ESR called on state governments to release more land for future industrial use as Australia continued to record the lowest national vacancy rate in the World.

DHL was founded in San Francisco in 1969. About 30 years later Deutsche Post began to acquire shares, reaching a controlling interest in 2001. It took full ownership in December 2002 and today employs about 380,000.