This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
A CONSORTIUM of four major landowners have pitched plans for a $25 billion “city within a city” on the Rosehill Racecourse and Camellia town centre in western Sydney.
The proposal from the Rosehill-Camellia Landowners Alliance (RCLA) – comprising Wentworth Properties, Billbergia, Abacus, and the Australian Turf Club – includes a new town centre and 45,000 new homes, with retail, education and commercial space alongside community facilities, public open spaces, and new infrastructure.
Also within the 90 hectares of amalgamated land will be a 350-metre man-made beach along the Parramatta River, which would open up an additional 1.5 kilometres of waterfront.
The consortium is touting that the mini-city would catalyse a three-minute economic super-hub in western Sydney – with residents able to commute within minutes between Westmead, Parramatta and Camellia using a new Metro station along the Metro West line.
The community would also be within an easy walk to Parramatta Light Rail stops and a new ferry wharf.
The consortium is calling on the NSW government to collaborate with the landowners and the Council to develop a new masterplan. The Australian Turf Club had already commenced discussions with the NSW government late last year on a proposal to relocate Rosehill Racecourse and build up to 25,000 new homes on the existing land, with greenspace and a new Metro West station.
The NSW government announced late last year it would overrule local Council controls in low and medium-density areas, hoping to fast-track the delivery of up to 112,000 homes. Much of this would be carried by housing close to transport hubs
Camellia was once a major industrial precinct but has been in decline for nearly half a century – there has been a 91% decrease in jobs since its 1976 peak.
“This is a once-in-a-century opportunity to plan strategically for an entire ’city within a city’, while also unlocking access to the riverfront – activating, remediating, and beautifying what is now a former industrial wasteland,” said Rick Graf, development director of Billbergia.
“It will enable Parramatta to fulfil its destiny as a global city alongside Sydney.”
The combined site is four times larger than Barangaroo and will accommodate 100,000 people, generating over 15,000 jobs.
Graf said it would be “the largest development in the history of the Central River City and is a total game-changer for Western Sydney”.
“Transport infrastructure like Parramatta Light Rail and the Metro West, provides an opportunity to develop a plan that considers the site’s strategic role over the next 50 years.
“This includes the long-term social infrastructure needed to support major housing supply and contribute to the status of the Central River city.”
Billbergia is again seeking to capitalise on the NSW government’s strategy for high-density living around transport nodes, having just lodged $335 million plans for a mixed-use precinct in nearby Concord West. Located at 1 King Street, the development could deliver 698 apartments and 18 townhouses across 10 buildings rising between four and 12 storeys, on 3.14 hectares of land connected to the train station.
