Construction failed to start on$99m mixed-use development in Liverpool CBD
A vision to transform a corner of Liverpool’s CBD into $99m residential towers could go back to the drawing board if soil isn’t turned in the next year. Find out why.
NSW
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A bold $99m plan to transform a corner of Sydney’s third CBD into two residential towers is yet to be built, with rising interest rates and labour costs blamed for the delay.
Construction has failed to start on Bathurst and Castlereagh streets and Memorial Ave, Liverpool, after developer Il Capitano lodged plans with Liverpool Council in 2019 to deliver 264 apartments across two towers.
The plans also included a four-storey podium featuring commercial and retail spaces at ground level, alongside a two-level restaurant.
Despite the council granting approval in 2020, an apartment block and beloved Italian restaurant Gemelle, which closed during the pandemic, have still not been demolished.
Under NSW planning laws, there is a five-year limit before a development application consent lapses, but developers can “activate” an approval by doing some basic groundwork.
The plans are now one year shy of the five-year deadline, with the development potentially going back to the drawing board if construction does not begin.
Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun said there were “no cranes in Liverpool” because rising inflation and interest rates had driven up prices since developments were approved four to five years ago.
“The record inflation has made things extremely expensive,” he said.
“We need more people to do the task of building the 70,000 houses we need in NSW, we don’t have enough skilled tradespeople to build them.”
Mr Mannoun said the development would help put Liverpool on the map as one of Sydney’s most affordable local government areas and show “you’re going to get the best value for money living here’’.
“We need to concentrate on housing in the city centre … it’s got transport, it’s got services and if you’re going to have density you have it here because people are walking all the time,” he said.
“If you put it (high-rise buildings) in the suburbs, you create traffic problems, so our view is they (high-rise buildings) should be in the Liverpool CBD only.”
The construction delays come after a string of other developments in Liverpool have failed to launch, including a $31m 21-storey mixed-use development on Bathurst St and a $104m mixed hotel and apartment complex on Elizabeth St which were approved in 2020.
Mr Mannoun previously told this masthead it was taking between five and seven years from development application approval to a “key in the door”.
“When you buy a block, it takes six to seven months to lodge a DA,’’ he said.
“Approval takes another year and then it used to take another 3.5 to four years before completion. Now it’s taking five to seven years. It is taking too long.’’
Attempts to contact the Il Capitano were made.
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Originally published as Construction failed to start on$99m mixed-use development in Liverpool CBD
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