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Traders in Purple, the Sydney-based privately held property developer, has filed plans for a second stage to its Villawood town centre, which will eventually see 334 apartments in the mixed-use project west of the capital.
With the outcome of the project’s first stage still to be determined, Traders in Purple are back before the Fairfield City Council seeking to build two eight to 11-storey mixed-use towers about 8km south of Parramatta.
The first of those will be 11 storeys with 158 residential units above a supermarket, speciality retail stores on the ground floor and above-ground parking within the first and second levels.
Another 64 apartments will be housed in a second, eight-storey tower, above a childcare facility and medical centre on the ground floor.
The design is by DKO Architecture.
When finished, the $90-million development will deliver a total 222 one, two and three-bedroom apartments with parking for 400 cars.
The two stages will be built on an irregular-shaped lot of 16,371sq m with frontages to Villawood Road, Kamira Avenue and what will be an extension of Howatt Street.
Stage two will be across 10,958sq m in the north of the site.
Part of the site—the lot at 16 Kamira Court as well as the internal road—is owned by Fairfield council and will be part of a land swap. A voluntary planning agreement (VPA) has been lodged with the council, under which the developers would create a 3000sq-m public park.
The new park will include a central green area for passive and active recreation, a children’s playground, outdoor exercise and games areas, seating with gardens, as well as public art.
About 1300sq m will be given over to nine retail spaces, with a similar gross floor area provided for the childcare facility. The supermarket will take up 1147sq m and the medical centre about 250 square metres.
West Sydney town planners Think Planners—who filed paperwork on behalf of Traders in Purple—said fit-out works and operational details for the non-residential areas would be a subsequent development application.
“Over the past 20 years Villawood town centre has suffered from a lack of redevelopment and investment, despite it residing along a key arterial road network and suburban train station,” Think Planners said in the application.
“The current proposal will not only permit an orderly redevelopment of an underutilised site as per the staging plan but will facilitate and support the redevelopment of Villawood town centre.”
Fairfield council commissioned an urban design study for the Villawood town centre in 2017 based on principles set out in the NSW government’s South West District Plan. The study identified key urban design, built form and place-making actions to improve “the vitality and vibrancy of the town centre”.
The town planners have filed a Clause 4.6 variation with the council over breaches in maximum height controls for the two buildings. Lift overruns mean one build exceeds the maximum allowable height of 27m by 600mm. The other is 1.89m above the 39m height control.
“A development of a compliant height would have a similar visual appearance when viewed from the public domain and adjoining properties as shown on the elevations,” Think Planners said.
“The proposal does not breach the maximum building height limit to gain additional yield on the site.”
Traders in Purple’s application for the first stage of the project—112 apartments in an eight to 10-storey mixed-use development— is under assessment via the Sydney Western City Planning Panel.
And that name?
The developers say it refers to Phoenician traders, who were known as “traders in purple”.
“In ancient times, the dye to make purple was so rare and costly only the most distinguished could afford cloth of this colour,” they add.
