Price must be right for new apartments, as Parramatta Road locals call for ‘shopper-friendly’ revamp
The NSW government wants to build thousands of new mid-size apartment blocks along Sydney’s arteries, but is Parramatta Road ready for a French Revolution in housing?
NSW
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Inner west businesses and residents near Parramatta Road, where new Parisian-style apartment buildings could be built to fix Sydney’s housing supply disaster, say more units in the area would be a good thing so long as the price is right.
Warren Bennison, owner of Trafalgar Street Espresso in Annandale, said the medium-scale housing proposal would make living in the area more affordable and would mean “extra business” for his cafe.
“Build up instead of out – what a good idea,” he said.
“People want to live in the city, people want that convenience.
“If there’s 200 new apartments, that’s at least 200 more people out and about spending their money in our local businesses.”
Parramatta Road antiques retailer Billy Robertson, who lives above his storefront, said an increase in housing developments would be a mark of progress for the once-thriving strip.
However, the owner of Annandale’s Cache Antiques said the bigger issue for businesses was the time of day traffic and lack of midweek parking in the clearway.
“That’s the reason so many of these businesses are closed,” Mr Roberston said.
“If we want to have businesses on Parramatta Road then we need to make it more shopper-friendly.
“Like baking a cake, it has to be a proper mix of commercial and residential … that’s how you keep a city alive.”
Long-time Leichhardt locals and uni students Axel Gerber and Antton Pagliasso welcomed more housing, but said the liveability of the area also needs to be addressed and the community revitalised.
“If you look at places like Marrickville or Newtown, they all have this kind of main street, bustling thing going on,” Mr Gerber said.
“There’s not much going on … with Parramatta Road. Back in the day … it used to be a strip and there’d be tons of people. Now it’s a ghost of what it used to be.
“I just want to see a comeback, but it’s difficult to think that just building houses or units is going to fix that.”
Horologist Mel Scott, who owns a pocket watch and clock repair shop on Parramatta Road and resides above it, said while she welcomed more housing if it’s affordable, she was concerned about handing the keys to the city to developers and investors.
“I think it’s actually going to have a negative effect (if) we don’t have good house prices for younger people. This is a higher class area and properties are already expensive,” she said.
“If we’re building houses for the people who need it, that’s a different situation.”
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