Bid to Raise Heights to Pave Way for Parramatta Skyscraper

A planning proposal to increase building heights now on exhibition would pave the way for a skyscraper in Sydney’s “second CBD”. The City of Parramatta has put the proposal to raise permissible on-site building height on public exhibition after it received gateway approval from the NSW Government in 2024. The draft planning proposal and agreement seek to lift permissible heights on a Phillip Street site that is presently 80m, or 105m with a Design Excellence Bonus. The planning proposal wants to take the 2192sq m site into skyscraper territory, raising that permissible height to 153m (equivalent to around 46 storeys), including all bonuses. It also aims to amend the maximum floor space ratio from 6:1 (or 9:7:1 when including all bonuses) to 16:56:1. This uplift would allow an additional 125 homes under plans for the site, the proposal said, bringing total apartment numbers up to an estimated 405 units of between one and three bedrooms. The plans would also include four storeys of commercial floor space. Revised plans ( pictured top ) by PTI Architecture, and commissioned by Anchor Group were put forward in 2019. ▲ A rendering of the proposal by PTI Architecture that could be realised under the planning proposal. Anchor Group owns the site, having acquired it for $25 million, and is led by Charbel Obeid. “Our proposal is about opening the riverfront to the community—creating high-quality public space, active ground-floor hospitality, and new homes and jobs in the heart of Parramatta,” Obeid told The Urban Developer. “It’s a design-led project that strengthens the city’s connection to the river while delivering lasting community benefit.” If approved, the planning proposal would create a mixed-use high-density site, helping “support Parramatta’s role as Sydney’s second CBD”. The project would encourage integration with Charles Street Square and the Parramatta River foreshore, with improvements to the square delivered through a Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA). ▲ Phillip Street is a hotbed of development proposals, including plans for this tower above a heritage-listed convict-built cottage. The VPA also stipulates that five affordable housing units would be provided, as well as the incorporation of an upper-level promenade fronting the river foreshore and a 6m setback “to strengthen and activate the square”. The project has been in the works for several years—an application to increase the density of development permitted on site was lodged in 2018 by Think Planning. The site isat 90 and 94 Phillip Street sits on the southern bank of the Parramatta River. Currently on site are four-storey commercial buildings across the two lots. The site is near Parramatta station, 800m from the Parramatta Transport Interchange and other light rail and metro infrastructure. While it is not heritage listed, several buildings in the vicinity are, including a convict-built cottage. That site at 64-66 Phillip Street is the subject of a 22-storey office proposal . Also in the works in the neighbourhood is a development by Coronation Property Group, which last year sought to add another six storeys to its 8 Phillip Street megaproject, to take it to 61 storeys. Anchor Group will also shortly unveil 30 boutique waterfront residences at Mortlake, with a Technogym-designed wellness studio and spa with sauna and steam room, as well as 300sq m of rooftop communal space.

Bid to Raise Heights to Pave Way for Parramatta Skyscraper

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