Another fast-tracked Sydney project is in progress, this one in a precinct among NSW’s fastest-growing.   The 8663sq m site at 93 Bridge Road, Westmead, has been slated for a two-tower project under state significant development plans now on exhibition. The applicant is listed as landowner 93 Bridge Road Pty Ltd, acting for the Bridge Road Unit Trust, a company associated with Ray Nolan, Melanie Ivory and John Taylor.  The double tower plans in the City of Parramatta by Beam Planning detail 549 apartments, of which 80 would be affordable for a minimum period of 15 years. The project, projected to cost $265.8 million, would be a mixture of predominantly one and two-bedroom units, with a handful of three-bedroom apartments.  The buildings, designed by Group GSA, would reach a maximum of 28 storeys and have a maximum gross floor area of 40,543 square metres.  This latest Westmead residential project has been identified by the NSW Housing Delivery Authority as a “key development” to supply “well-located, diverse and affordable housing” in metropolitan Sydney. ▲ Rendering of the Bridge Road proposal. The development, which would replace 31 single-storey homes on the traditional lands of the Burramattagal clan of the Dharug people, also includes a 1000sq m public park and a four-storey basement of 441 carparking spaces. The site is described as “underutilised”, presenting an opportunity to support the growth of the surrounding Westmead Health and Innovation District.  That district includes four major hospitals, four “world-leading” medical research institutes and two university campuses.  The government and private sector have committed $3.4 billion to upgrade and expand facilities in the precinct, including the $272-million gene therapies building revealed this year. ▲ Rendering of the Tower B podium of the Westmead Bridge Road project. The development application is a culmination of a somewhat convoluted planning process—several iterations had previously made progress, including a planning proposal submitted in 2019 that included short-term accommodation.  This was halted by a moratorium on site-specific planning proposals outside the Parramatta CBD lifted in 2020, at which time a new proposal for build-to-rent housing was lodged for the site. Other earlier plans detailed a “vertical health village”, co-locating residential and allied health units.  But that plan, after going before the Sydney Central Planning Panel, was not recommended for gateway determination.  After multiple reworks, a new proposal was filed in February of last year, and finalised in March when gateway approval was secured and the plans went on exhibition. The Parramatta area has a predicted population increase of up to 211,000 people by 2036, according to the application.  It said that 162,000 homes would be required to house the growing population, with a focus on affordability, given that 31 per cent of the population are experiencing rental stress.  This was a 72.2 per cent increase from 20 years ago, it said. 
