The Lidcombe Rise at Church St to feature 400 units
Plans for a $300 million apartment complex of private and public housing has with buildings soaring to 40m are close to being approved. The development will be home to key workers, including nurses and police officers.
Parramatta
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A $300 million complex for 400 public and private apartments at Lidcombe is nudging closer to the finish line, with a proposal to increase its height to 40m getting the green light.
Developers Billbergia will transform the State Government-owned site at 2-36 Church St from six dwellings into a four-block complex ranging from six to 13 storeys.
The Lidcombe Rise will feature a council-run 60-place childcare centre, public park, community centre and 400-lot carpark.
Cumberland Council endorsed the planning proposal at its meeting last week when a request to amend the building heights was approved.
Two buildings were originally planned to reach 23m and 27m but will now peak at 40m, while the remaining will sprout from 14.9m-22m and 16.9m-32m.
Under the council’s control plans, buildings are permitted to reach 60m in Lidcombe’s CBD.
There will be 80 public housing dwellings, which Evolve Housing will run, 124 affordable units allocated for key workers such as police and nurses and the remainder will be private flats.
Despite the council’s endorsement of the proposal, more details of a $23 million voluntary planning agreement will be provided after a workshop for councillors to determine the benefits the development will bring.
As well as the park, Billbergia has allocated $7.9 million for a roundabout at Martin St and traffic improvements in Lidcombe Town Centre.
The redevelopment falls under the government’s Communities Plus program that mixes public and “private housing, with good access to transport, employment, improved community facilities and open spaces”.
However, along with his Our Local Community councillor Paul Garrard, Mayor Steve Christou voted against The Lidcombe Rise.
The mayor has been vocal about overdevelopment across Cumberland and spurned projects including a 700-unit, five-tower Coronation Property project at Merrylands which he labelled overkill.
“I am constantly lobbying the State Government and liaising to ensure Cumberland City residents receive the necessary infrastructure,’’ he said last week.
“Infrastructure upgrades are not just limited to council alone. They involve the help of the State Government.”
In the same meeting last week, the council deferred a planning proposal for a whopping 1255 at units the former Caterpillar site at 1 Crescent St Holroyd, citing traffic concerns because of its location on the already-congested Woodville Rd and M4.
Cumberland’s population is forecast to grow by about 30 per cent over the next 20 years to reach about 300,000 people by 2036.
The Lidcombe Rise development will now proceed to the Planning Department, which will have the final say on its future.