Toplace unit tower to replace Parramatta PCYC

An apartment tower to replace Parramatta PCYC is closer to getting the final tick of approval.

A 61-storey apartment tower to replace the Parramatta PCYC building at Hassall St is closer to getting the final tick of approval.

Toplace developers’ plans for 12 Hassall St in the CBD will comprise a tower housing 338 apartments.

A Toplace spokeswoman said the 180m tower would be one of the tallest in the Parramatta skyline and become “an iconic structure’’.
“The tower will be subject to a robust competition between three architects, including the award-winning PTW who designed Sydney’s One Central Park,’’ she said.

At a Parramatta Council meeting this week, the proposal advanced to the Planning Department, which will determine the project.

Parramatta Greens councillor Phil Bradley opposed the project, citing excessive density and flooding concerns. He said the council was still awaiting a heritage assessment for the tower, which would have an “overbearing nature’’ on the 202-year-old Lancer Barracks military landmark.

The 2055sq m site is where Parramatta PCYC, which has since relocated to George St, once stood and is next to the Commercial Hotel.

It will also be neighbours with a 19-storey Engineering Innovation Hub, which Western Sydney University and University of NSW students will share once it is open at Hassall St by 2021.

The State Government-approved project which will house 1600 engineering and architecture students.