Manufacturing in Hot Seat as Australia’s Newest City Forges Ahead

First it was an electric rail network, then a harbour bridge. Now, Sydney hopes the big dreams of John Bradfield will inspire a new city. The future aerotropolis city, named after the Australian engineer and chief proponent of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, located a step to the west of Sydney, is expected to be in full flight when its airport and rail line open in 2026. The 114ha city centre has seeded in no small measure with a $20-billion investment in infrastructure. New to the project is Ken Morrison, former Property Council of Australia chief executive, who has taken on the role of chief executive of the newly named Bradfield Development Authority. He was appointed in June when the Western Parkland City Authority was renamed and Infrastructure NSW was given special powers in a bid to end “unacceptable delays” and untangle “unnecessary red tape”, handing the authority the power to resolve roadblocks and disagreements between agencies. “I heard Tom Gellibrand [Infrastructure NSW chief executive] speak about this,” Morrison tells The Urban Developer . “He’s plowing ahead, developing an infrastructure structure plan for the aerotropolis region. “That will create a schedule of infrastructure upgrades and the timing of those. “I think it’s the license you need in your wallet without necessarily needing to use it. “The work he’s been doing and the consultation has been first class and I think the outcome will be exactly what the precinct needs.” ▲ The September 2024 site works at Bradfield covers 35 per cent of the new city and are due to complete by mid-2025. The Bradfield masterplan was approved on September 4 and comprises 10,000 homes, 20,000 jobs and 36ha of greenspace, including a central park. “I’m coming in at a time where now it’s all about delivery—we’ve been in planning mode and now we are getting it done,” Morrison says. “It is something that had been on the planning books since Bob Hawke’s day, so that was a breakthrough decision. “Under the Turnbull government that decision was made to do a city deal around the airport.” The new homes and jobs will be across 80 buildings, starting with the Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility. The first building known as the AMRF was approved on September 9 and includes 1009sq m of manufacturing space and 1054sq m of office space. ▲ A render of the AMRF building, designed by Hassell ’ s Liz Westgarth, landscape architect John Hazelwood with cultural research and designer Daniele Hromek. Morrison says they are looking at what works overseas to gain insight. “There’s several inspirations—what have other countries done to build cities around new airports, what were the success stories and what have been the failures,” he says. “There’s a number of countries that have led the way in that ... South Korea, the UK and some states in the US have done interesting things. “The model we have developed does borrow some elements from each of them, particularly some of the UK’s thinking, and it also has to reflect the region we are in.” Morrison says manufacturing is a core part of that and “recognising what the modern day and future manufacturing role for Australia is”. “It’s not the 1950s end-to-end process in the way that it was. “It’s a focus on high-tech, high-skill manufacturing and being part of a supply change that extends across international borders.” However, cities evolve over time and while the AMRF will stay, the surrounding space will be more flexible. ▲ The 24/7 Western Sydney International, also known as Nancy-Bird Walton Airport is four minutes from the future Bradfield city centre. Morrison says it starts with the 3.8ha mixed-use area around this site and that they are narrowing down on a developer to deliver the superlot. “We’ve gone through an expressions-of-interest process and are now in a request for RFP process, so we will be able, in the second quarter of next year, to announce a development partner for that site,” Morrison says. “We’re also looking closely at potential activations across the site. “One of the benefits of the scale of this opportunity is the ability to consider different types of uses for a short period of time; it might be 5 or 10 years before they can be upcycled into other uses. “So we want to think innovatively about things that can add value back into the precinct and help to enliven the precinct, and support what our superlot partners are doing—and support what we are doing in the AMRF.” CSIRO and Western Sydney University will run the AMRF Connect, a “scale-up hub” to connect manufacturers with investors, create collaborative workspaces, masterclasses and networking onsite. There is no shortage of big names working to get the city built—including Gavin Boswarva who led Stockland’s mixed-use strategy alongside Anne Skewes, Peter Mackey, Ben Kitcher and Natalie Camilleri. ▲ A render of a two-stage development on the site next to Kelvin Homestead, a state-heritage listed lot at Bradfield. While all eyes are on the aerotropolis city, applications are lining up on its boundaries to convert single-home sites on large lots into mixed-use developments. The most recent to go on exhibition are three mixed-use residential buildings comprising 533 apartments and ground floor retail at 40 The Retreat, Bradfield. SCG Developments is behind the project that has a $207-million capital investment value under the DKO-designed scheme. Weeks earlier KK Capital unveiled plans for 211 apartments, retail, 760 carparking spaces and two childcare facilities for a 2ha site at 60 Kelvin Park Drive. Meanwhile, business case studies to extend the Western Sydney Airport line are under way, an obvious plus for Bradfield. Build it and they will come, the old adage says. At Australia’s newest city, they’re banking on it. You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

Manufacturing in Hot Seat as Australia’s Newest City Forges Ahead

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