Goodman Pivots Guildford West Site to $1.1bn Data Centre

A planning pivot from warehouse to hyperscale data centre would reshape a key Western Sydney site under a $1.1-billion proposal now on public exhibition.

Global industrial property group Goodman is behind the development, known as Project Pluto, which proposes one two-storey data centre on a 71,710sq m site at 132 McCredie Road, Guildford West.

The facility would deliver 29,444sq m of gross floor area across two buildings, comprising nine data halls and 5508sq m of ancillary office space.

At full capacity, it would support a total IT load of 68mW, delivered in two 34mW stages.

Supporting infrastructure includes substations, cooling systems, security access, 63 carparking spaces and 23,701sq m of landscaped area—roughly a third of the site.

The buildings would rise to about 26m and connect directly to the adjacent Guildford West Endeavour Energy substation.

The site’s location was a key factor in Goodman’s shift from traditional industrial use to digital infrastructure.

“The site presents a rare opportunity to leverage a site of scale, located immediately opposite existing Ausgrid infrastructure with significant electricity capacity available,” the company said in planning documents.

Goodman acquired the 7.1ha property in 2021 for $40.2 million, purchasing the former Castrol lubricants facility after its decommissioning and designation for remediation.

The deal included a two-year leaseback to Castrol.

In 2022, the company secured approval to undertake Category 1 remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater.

Later that year, it received consent to demolish existing structures and construct three warehouse buildings with 10 industrial units.

That scheme was modified in 2024 to reduce gross floor area, remove a proposed basement carpark, and incorporate staged delivery, tree replacement and public art.

In March 2024, Goodman formally lodged a State Significant Development application for the data centre, effectively superseding the warehouse scheme.

The developer said the move from warehousing to hyperscale infrastructure reflected growing demand for cloud-based services and the need for secure local storage.

“The proposed development will address a demand for data storage space in the Sydney basin ... providing Australian companies and organisations with the opportunity to store their data locally and thereby minimise cybersecurity risks,” it said.

Beyond private sector demand, Goodman also framed the project as economically essential.

“The development will provide secure data storage for numerous businesses, which is critical to their future operations and wider economic growth.”

It described the project as part of a broader evolution in its portfolio strategy.

“Goodman is a digital infrastructure company that owns, develops and manages high-quality, sustainable properties that are close to consumers and provide essential infrastructure for the digital economy.”

Project Pluto is on public exhibition until June 6.