OtherRenee McKeownThu 18 Apr 24

Developer Readies Plans for Rhodes Fire Station Towers

render from the Rhodes Place Strategy showing two buildings next to the train station and park, this is where the Ecove Group development will be.

A Sydney Olympic Park developer has moved across the Parramatta River to prepare plans on the “premium” Rhodes Fire Station site.

Ecove Group wants to build 17 and 21-storey towers next to the train station overlooking McIlwaine Park at 15-17 and 25-27 Blaxland Road, and 440-442 Concord Road, Rhodes.

The group is preparing an environmental impact statement for the site, including a residential aged-care facility, shoptop housing, offices and a new emergency services facility.

This would replace the exisiting apartment building, fire station and single-storey homes on the 5500sq m site, which was bought in stages over 2018 and 2019.

Next door at 9-13 Blaxland Road, Billbergia is planning a 38-storey shoptop development with nine levels of basement parking.

The seniors housing component of the Ecove development would relocate the nearby RFBI Concord Community Village to the development so that site could developed in the future.

The Ecove group proposed concept envelope by Bates Smart, the Rhodes Fire Station, an aerial of the site by Nearmap and the hero image was of the site from the Rhodes Place Strategy.

▲ Clockwise from left: The Ecove group’s proposed concept envelope by Bates Smart, the Rhodes Fire Station and a Nearmap aerial. Main image: from Rhodes Place Strategy.

However, there was one missing piece of the land puzzle —Ecove tried unsuccessfully to buy a single-storey house at 31 Blaxland Road.

The Ecove and Billbergia sites are part of the eastern Rhodes rezoning made in late 2021 as part of the Rhodes Place Strategy.

This aims to add 4200 homes and a primary school, upgrade Rhodes train station, improve public space and a build a ferry wharf.

The plans indicates buildings from 20 to 37 storeys could be built alongside the train station and park, as well as adding a station bridge plaza to connect pedestrians from the rail network to the water.