City shaping vision for Penrith a step closer

Monday, 27 August 2018

The transformation of the Penrith City Centre into a vibrant place to live, work and play is one step closer, following Council’s resolution at last night’s Ordinary Meeting.

The transformation of the Penrith City Centre into a vibrant place to live, work and play is one step closer, following Council's resolution at last night's Ordinary Meeting. At the meeting Councillors agreed to enter into a Project Delivery Agreement with Frasers Property Australia (Frasers) for the proposed development of the Union Road car park site.

Mayor of Penrith, Cr John Thain said that Union Road was identified as a key site to transform the City Centre after extensive community consultation as part of the Penrith Progression - A Plan for Action (2015).

"The community told us that they want bold and innovative ways to change our City Centre, we've listened and today's milestone moves us one step closer to delivering on that vision," said Cr Thain.

Frasers were nominated as the preferred proponent late last year after a rigorous and competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process. Frasers vision stood out as it set a new benchmark for urban living, and presented an innovative design to provide an extra 1,000 public parking spaces, all within a sophisticated sustainable development that is rarely seen outside of major regional centres.

"Frasers' vision for the site is leading-edge, offering many benefits including; beautiful open urban spaces, sustainable design, additional public parking and diverse housing options," Cr Thain said.

Key features of Frasers' vision for the site include:

• 6 residential apartment buildings ranging in height from 17 to 34 storeys that will feature residential, retail and commercial space; a child care centre, public plaza and landscaped communal spaces,
  • a public carpark of a minimum 1,434 spaces (in addition to required residential parking) progressively delivered and designed to accommodate alternative future uses,
• the opportunity for Council to reallocate funds towards other parking projects within the City to offset any parking loss at the Union Road site during development and provide a further 1,000 additional parking spaces through work that is already underway at North Street, Soper Place and a lease agreement with Penrith Paceway,
• an estimated $700million benefit to our local economy - up to 500 jobs each year, including construction, retail and associated local services.

The move by Council last night to enter into the Project Delivery Agreement with Frasers Property moves the development to the start of what will be extensive planning processes. There are still a number of steps to go through before the development is approved, and community consultation forms a large part of the process from now on.

Cr Thain said "It's important to remember that while this phase of negotiations have ended there's still a long way to go. Frasers need to refine their concept and prepare a planning proposal for which there will be extensive community consultation.

"Any development in the City must return a benefit to residents. As a Council we are committed to providing the community with diverse housing options, greater connections to job centres, accessibility to health and education providers and the creation of more local jobs close to home.

"We are also committed to providing more parking in our city centre. Frasers vision for Union Road forecasts 1,434 public parking spaces that would be integrated into the development to enhance accessibility across the site. Additional to this Council has started work on public parking at North Street and Soper Place.

"We are pleased that a developer of Frasers' calibre is investing in Penrith, as this is a great endorsement for our city and how our region is shaping," Cr Thain said.

Information contained within this news release was correct as at Monday, 27 August 2018.