Sekisui House Moves On With 2300 Apartment Plan

Japanese-backed developer Sekisui House Australia has lodged plans for the next phase of its riverfront masterplanned community after the first stage was completed earlier this year.

The development at 14-16 Hill Road, known as Sanctuary, is in Sydney’s Wentworth Point on the Parramatta River just north of Homebush Olympic precinct.

Sekisui House secured two north-facing waterfront sites at Wentworth Point in October 2016 from the NSW Roads and Maritime Services for $360 million.

The developer is planning to deliver 2300 units in 20 buildings across six stages of construction, 2000sq m of retail space and reserving land for a potential light rail or bus corridor. It also has plans to deliver a 3.2ha public park.

Its latest submission, designed by PBD Architects, calls for two apartment buildings on a 7800sq m site, comprising 9000sq m and 6000sq m in gross floor area and 101 and 70 apartments respectively.

As part of this phase, Sekesui will also build a gym with a residents’ swimming pool above a common basement, with a publicly accessible common green between the residential buildings.

Earlier this year, Sekisui completed construction of the project’s first stage, an apartment tower known as Landing, designed by Japanese architects Kengo Kuma.

The first stage—comprising 364 apartments, 16 terraced homes and 12 two-storey maisonettes—was delivered in two phases with the first 165 apartments to be completed in 2020.

The 9.5ha residential masterplan, one of the few undeveloped parcels of land along the foreshore, is close to Parramatta, Rhodes and Sydney Olympic Park, and close to the ferry terminal, bus and train services, and a proposed Parramatta light rail.

The NSW government recently announced that stage two of the Parramatta light rail has been given the green light with the federal government to allocate $50 million to the project in the state budget.

The government has also announced a preferred route for the second stage of the project that will connect stage one and the Parramatta CBD to Ermington, Melrose Park, Sydney Olympic Park and the under-construction Wentworth Point.

“Sanctuary has proactively taken this into consideration with the masterplan [currently on exhibition] designed to accommodate the future light rail line to come through the site,” a Sekisui House spokesperson said.

“These actions have been taken to further demonstrate Sanctuary’s vision to deliver a connected, vibrant lifestyle to its residents, as integrated light rail facilities will provide convenient connectivity to major local attractions and business hubs.”

Wentworth Point is currently the middle of a major transformation as it shrugs off its industrial past to become a fast-growing residential suburb.

Major projects such as the Bennelong Bridge have fast-tracked the suburb’s new identity, connecting it over the Parramatta River to Rhodes in the east.

Other features of the broader Wentworth Point urban renewal precinct include a $22-million public school, 12,000sq m shopping centre, Marina Square, and facilities including a marina, dry boat stack storage and launching facility and over-water rowing club.

The Department of Planning and Environment identified the sites at Wentworth Point as a ‘priority precinct’ which aims to deliver new housing in areas with easy access to public transport, shops, services and jobs and the site was rezoned in July, 2014.