Epping TOD Highrise Plans Redrawn Eight Years On

Plans for a 21-storey tower opposite one of Sydney’s busiest rail and metro interchanges have been redrawn almost eight years after the project first entered the planning system.

Sydney developer Steve Sun, through DGS Property Group, lodged fresh design changes for a previously approved 130-unit mixed-use building opposite Epping Station, about 22km north-west of the Sydney CBD.

Epping Station operates as a major interchange between Sydney Trains and the Sydney Metro network, anchoring a transport-oriented redevelopment precinct where planning controls encourage higher-density housing and retail close to public transport.

City planners will publicly exhibit the revised plans from March 12 through the City of Parramatta Council.

The development would rise from a 2150sq m amalgamated site linking Beecroft Road and Rawson Street beside the station entrance.

Initial plans filed in 2018 proposed a 21-storey tower delivering about 130 apartments above a three-storey podium containing retail and commercial tenancies.

Community submissions quickly focused on how redevelopment would replace an existing pedestrian shortcut—known locally as Epping Walk—used by commuters moving between the station concourse and surrounding retail streets.

▲ The site between Beecroft Road and Rawson Street opposite Epping Station, where plans include a pedestrian arcade replacing Epping Walk.

Designs relied on stairs within the replacement connection, raising accessibility concerns.

The Sydney Central City Planning Panel refused the proposal in 2019 largely over treatment of the pedestrian link.

Following revisions to circulation and internal layout, the developer returned later in 2019 with a modified scheme that secured planning approval.

Those plans retained the 21-storey height and mixed-use program, including residential apartments above retail and commercial space and four basement levels for parking, bicycle storage and building services.

Fresh plans now propose a series of design revisions across the approved tower.

▲ PTW Architects’ revised design for the approved 21-storey mixed-use tower opposite Epping Station.

Changes include updates to the podium layout, adjustments to the façade articulation, refinements to apartment configurations and alterations to the basement parking arrangement.

Plans also modify the pedestrian arcade running through the site between Beecroft Road and Rawson Street beside the station entrance.

Earlier schemes were designed by Dickson Rothschild, with PTW Architects now leading the latest design revisions.

Station-front land across the precinct has become a key redevelopment target as developers pursue sites offering immediate access to suburban rail services and the Sydney Metro network.

▲ Plans position the main residential lift lobby near the Beecroft Road frontage, with a double-height ground-floor entry space for residents.

Corporate records list DGS Epping Development Pty Ltd as the project vehicle linked to Sun’s DGS Property Group, while earlier plans for the site were associated with Double Goldstone Pty Ltd (DGSM).

Public exhibition of the revised proposal will be held for 21 days.