Billbergia Rhodes Central home to 1500 residents, shopping centre

It was once an industrial hub of chemical and timber factories but the ever-expanding Rhodes peninsula is now home to high-rise homes and a $2.5 billion residential and retail development.

It was once an industrial hub of chemical and timber factories but the ever-expanding Rhodes peninsula is now home to high-rise homes and a $2.5 billion residential and retail development that was booming during lockdown 2.0.

Over the past three months, 1500 people have moved into Billbergia’s Rhodes Central’s residential towers and, more recently, used the 55 shops including the Woolworths supermarket, and the 15 cafes and restaurants in Bamboo Lane, a dining precinct inspired by Asia’s bustling hawker lanes.

Billbergia development director Rick Graf said the urban renewal project had taken two decades to come to fruition.

“Rhodes Central is the grandest of urban renewal visions,’’ he said.

“It has been transformed from its contaminated industrial past into a vibrant, contemporary residential community.’’

During the 1900s, the Rhodes peninsula became an industrial hub and over the next century it

became home to ironworks, flour mill, sawmill, timber merchants, pipeworks and chemical works.

In 1957, companies such as pesticides and herbicides producer Union Carbide Australia Limited and paints producer Lewis Berger & Sons supplied more than 272,000L litres of paint for the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932.

When industry shifted out of the area in the 1980s, Billbergia founder John Kinsella started envisaging the area as a waterfront community with high-rise towers.

The next stage of the Rhodes Central development will house 4000 residents.

“Our vision was to build an entire masterplanned precinct, and while we’ve already been involved in Rhodes for 20 years, we have also acquired enough land in Rhodes East to stay for another two decades,’’ Mr Graf said.

Mr Graf said the tall, slender residential buildings still left 40 per cent of land to be transformed into parks and public open spaces.

The next stage of the 20,000sq m Rhodes Central masterplan will comprise 4000 residents and a $70 million, double-storey community recreation centre.

There are three buildings in Rhodes Central and four more are to follow.

Billbergia will have a total of 16 developments on the Rhodes peninsula.

Ninety per cent of the local population lives in Billbergia-developed towers.

Mr Graf said pre-2010, homebuyers were often downsizers and investors but buyers are now more likely to be an upsizer seeking larger apartments to accommodate a growing family.

“They’ve lived in Rhodes for a decade or more, they’ve had a family and have fallen in love with the amenities, waterfront and transport links,’’ Mr Graf said.

“They like the convenience and don’t want to leave.’’

The retail complex includes 55 shops and a full-line Woolworths supermarket.

Billbergia is also the developer behind Wentworth Point, which, despite neighbouring Rhodes, is a community crying out for more infrastructure, including the second stage of the light rail, a well-equipped high school and parks in a neighbourhood that is one of the most densely-populated in Australia.

Business Western Sydney executive director David Borger has lobbied for the State Government to extend the light rail from Parramatta and Sydney Olympic Park and said the Rhodes community would benefit from the service.

“The Rhodes Central development is a game changer for the area,’’ he said.

“Having a smorgasbord of dining and shopping options on the doorstep of Wentworth Point is a win for the area.”

“Parramatta Light Rail stage two being an easy stroll away will provide the residents from across Wentworth Point, Sydney Olympic Park and Rhodes increased access to enjoy the amenities across the region.”

Wentworth Point residents are fighting Billbergia’s Bennelong Cove 1000-unit development after it had tripled in size from the original proposal and could soar to 50 storeys.

Also known as Block H at 16 Burroway Rd, it is one of the last remaining undeveloped lots in Wentworth Point and was originally for 350 units up to 25 storeys but amendments saw that leap to 642 dwellings up to 40 storeys and, the most likely scenario, is 997 apartments.

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