Liverpool Civic Place: $152m plan to include more than 300 apartments in commercial hub

A $152m plan to expand a multimillion-dollar CBD precinct could include more than 300 apartments in an effort to curb the housing crisis gripping the state. See the plans here.

An artist impression of Liverpool Civic Place.

A $152m plan to expand Liverpool’s multimillion-dollar Civic Place precinct could include more than 300 apartments in an effort to curb the housing crisis gripping the state.

Built Development Group’s masterplan for the $600m precinct on Scott St was approved in 2020 by Liverpool council in a bid to transform the area into Sydney’s third CBD.

Stage one opened in 2023 featuring a 5000sq m public library, commercial offices, alongside council chambers and administration facilities in early 2024.

The $350m second stage of the development has been forecasted to include a 22-storey office building and a nine-storey hotel.

Artist's impression of Liverpool Civic Place at 52 Scott St, Liverpool. Latest version supplied by Liverpool Council. Picture: Liverpool Council

Built has since lodged plans with Liverpool Council to revise the approved stage two plans to include 350 build-to-rent apartments to cater for the lack of available housing in southwest Sydney.

The proposed plans would increase the office building from 22 to 27-storeys and include 25,046sq m of residential and 314sq m of retail space.

Planners state since the development was approved in 2022, Sydney’s “ongoing and worsening housing crisis” has led to a “reduced appetite for commercial, boarding house, hotel and educational establishment uses”.

“This amending DA has been prepared in light of these factors to provide much-needed housing that responds to the Liverpool LGA’s anticipated undersupply of 7,774 dwellings by 2036 and its lack of housing diversity,” planners state.

An artist's impression of Liverpool Civic Place on Scott St.

The changes would also provide the potential homebuyers with the “more affordable option” of apartments to “enter the housing market”.

If approved, the revised development will be the subject of a separate application for council to consider.

Liverpool Council has committed $195m to the precinct, including the new council chambers and offices.

Built will fund the commercial costs of the remaining stages of the project, including proposed revision of the 22-storey tower.

Built development director Jono Cottee said the project would “benefit the community and attract more investment into the region”.

“With its proximity to public transport, coupled with the world-class facilities, Liverpool Civic Place represents revitalisation and precinct activation at scale and will ensure southwest Sydney is well-positioned for the region’s ongoing investment and expansion,” he said.