| Boulevard of developers' dreams shackled by red tape
A TREE-LINED boulevard with trams from the city to Parramatta. Mr Johnson said the completion of the M4 East was crucial to reviving Parramatta Road but development of the apartments was needed before then. With 100,000 new apartments, by 2036, Parramatta Road would become the best place to live, attracting young people and creative industries such as businesses similar to Look Print in Leichhardt, whose 70 employees live and work close by. The taskforce plan calls for Parramatta Road to have a much higher density, with six storeys on each side. The developer Iwan Sunito, the chief executive of Crown International Holdings Group, says every council has ''different ideas'' so it would be a lot easier to deal with one authority. Infrastructure NSW is due to make its recommendations to the government in September about the M4 East and other projects. Mr Hazzard concurred. ''If the very fast train happens, the most probably route would end up with the Sydney stop at Parramatta,'' he said. He said the completion of the M4 was perhaps 10 years away. Look Print's David Lynch supports the plan. Although yet to be put formally to its owners, up to 10,000 apartments could be built at Flemington Markets. That's the latest ambitious plan for Parramatta Road, and the developer lobby believes it's all achievable - within 25 years - if a new urban regional authority is established to manage it. Mr Hazzard hinted that a brand new authority could be established. While he had yet to see the taskforce's plan, Parramatta Road left ''a lot to be desired and the potential is enormous''. They include about 300 apartments at Summer Hill; more than 1800 in two developments at Auburn and 1300 at Five Dock. On the metro, Mr Johnson conceded it ''wasn't going to happen instantly'' but suggested it could come about the same time as the very fast train. ''If people live in a city they do expect to have a bit of density and a bit of vitality and bustle,'' Mr Johnson said. These are all very young, vital, imaginative and creative people who certainly spend an enormous amount of money in the area. He said taskforce members had up to 20 sites - some three to four hectares - caught up in council red tape. |
Saturday 9 June 2012
Boulevard of developers' dreams shackled by red tape
