Meadowbank development: $86M boarding house anger
Plans for a major boarding house and apartment development have been met with anger and concern given the size and proximity to a nearby school. SEE THE PLANS.
Northern District Times
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Furious councillors and residents have petitioned against a new mega boarding house and apartment block in Sydney’s northwest.
Plans were lodged by Sasco Developments for the mega $86 million mixed use development which would see four towers up to seven storeys high featuring 133 apartments and a 162-room boarding house.
It will also include a new plaza which would link Meadowbank shops to the railway station, a ground level retail precinct and 419 car park lots at the proposed development on the corner of Railway Rd and Constitution Rd.
Ryde Liberal councillors Jordan Lane and Sarkis Yedelian have written letters to local residents saying they are “resolutely against” the development proposal.
“Residents have spoken and they have had enough,” the letter reads. They claimed the site would lead to an “enormous influx” of new residents and cars that would add to the already congested area.
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An online petition called ‘Stop Meadowbank’s Mega Boarding House’ has been created by Cr Lane which he claims has had more than 600 signatures to date.
“I am vehemently opposed to the overdevelopment of our area and will be fighting against this proposal,” Cr Lane said.
He worried there was not enough traffic and social infrastructure to sustain the proposed development.
With new schools proposed nearby as part of the Meadowbank Education Precinct, Cr Lane said the area was not the right location for a boarding house.
“I think it’s out of place. It’s poorly planned. It should not be allowed to be lodged as an application,” he said.
“This is not the right location for the boarding house. Maybe near Macquarie University but not across the road from a new primary school.”
Yet Joseph Sassine from Sasco Developments said there was a lot of “misinformation” in the community around the term ‘boarding house.’
Mr Sassine said it would be more accurately described as “co-living” and gave examples of slick contemporary options such as those run by UKO in Stanmore and Paddington.
“This form of co-living is occupied by younger professionals, workers and students, and fulfils an important void in the context of affordable housing in the new Employment and Education Precinct,” he said.
Mr Sassine said the proposed development will further create an opportunity for a more village-like atmosphere in Meadowbank.
“The proposed development presents an opportunity to create a real local village for Meadowbank through the inclusion of a public plaza and quality retail and dining experiences,” he said.
Shepherds Bay resident Toni Courtelis, who has been campaigning against the proposed development, also claimed it was the “wrong environment” for a boarding house.
“You’ve got a primary school with 5 year old kids (nearby). It’s not right,” she said.
Yet Mr Sassine said the primary school is on the north side of the education precinct and won’t be seen from the proposed development which will be closer to the TAFE campus.
The same developers lodged a DA to get two 27-storey towers built on the same site in 2017 which was later knocked back.
Public submissions close today.