A state significant development application has been lodged for a $2.2 billion masterplanned community featuring eight residential towers in Sydney’s Inner West.
The proposal would deliver 1,336 new homes across towers ranging from six to 37 storeys on a 3.14-hectare site at 1 King St, Concord West, adjacent to the Concord West Train Station. Currently occupied by a single large warehouse, the site was identified for redevelopment in the NSW Department of Planning’s Parramatta Road Corridor Urban Transformation Strategy.
Named Concord Central, the project is being developed by Billbergia and joint venture partner Metrics Credit Partners, and was masterplanned and designed by executive architect Group GSA with additional architecture by Fitzpatrick and Partners, Carter Williamson and Lachlan Seegers Architect, and landscape architecture by McGregor Coxall.
According to a communique from Group GSA, the public domain is set to be activated with retail outlets, a supermarket, food and beverage offerings, medical facilities and a childcare centre at ground level. The plans also accommodate 8,750 square metres of open space, including a 4,130-square-metre central park and a green network that runs through the community. Play areas, community gardens and 316-metre pedestrian and cycle link also form part of the proposal.
The community is divided into three neighbourhood precincts. The Station Precinct, designed by Group GSA and Lachlan Seegers Architect, comprises three towers atop a podium that contains the majority of food and beverage outlets, as well as the childcare centre. The Park Neighbourhood, featuring three buildings designed by Fitzpatrick and Partners, accommodates communal and wellness spaces alongside the central park. The Urban Edge, designed by Carter Williamson, offers terrace-style apartments across two buildings.
Group GSA director Lisa-Maree Carrigan said the design was guided by ideals of connection and community. She commented, “We’ve created a series of human-scaled streets and open spaces that link residents directly to transport, green space and the daily amenities that make neighbourhood life vibrant and enjoyable.”
Chairman and director of design at McGregor Coxall Philip Coxall echoed those sentiments, stating, “The landscape stitches the site into the wider community with green links, vibrant pedestrian-friendly streets, parklands and kids’ play, creating an open space for all. Water is captured and infiltrated on-site, supporting a palette of native plants and a canopy of shade trees that create places for people and support the local ecology.”
The project is being delivered under the Housing Delivery Authority’s Alternative Design Excellence Strategy, a design competition exemption pathway for declared state significant developments aimed at accelerating housing. The proposal was reviewed through a Project-Specific Design Review Panel in line with Government Architect NSW guidelines for involving both emerging and established practices in state significant developments.
The plans for Concord Central have been lodged with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure and are expected to go on exhibition shortly. According to Billbergia, construction could commence as early as the second half of 2026, with completion of the first buildings slated for 2029.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
