Eastlakes: Approval for 500-unit shopping centre redevelopment
A controversial proposal to increase the size of a shopping centre redevelopment and residential hub in southeast Sydney to include more units and taller buildings has been approved with “strict conditions”.
Southern Courier
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A controversial development in Sydney’s southeast has been approved which will result in a new shopping centre and almost 500 units built in towers up to 12 storeys.
Developer Crown Group was given approval last week to increase the size of its shopping and residential development in Eastlakes, known as Eastlakes Live.
The developer can now build 490 units in buildings up to 12 storeys to go along with a new and improved Eastlakes Shopping Centre.
The project previously had approval for 425 units in buildings up to 10 storeys as well as a new centre.
The Department of Planning approved the modification last Thursday with “strict conditions”, after fast-tracking the project to help create jobs and boost the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The added approval conditions include traffic improvements being made at the intersection of Gardeners Rd and Racecourse Place, “landscape planters” and green walls being included on Barber Ave, more carparking for a proposed medical centre and childcare centre, and a red light to be fixed at the highest point of the development (for aircraft).
Signage proposed for the south site was rejected under the determination.
Crown Group chief operating officer Pierre Abrahamse said the centre would create “a new heart for Eastlakes”.
“We are really looking forward to bringing the centre firmly into the 21st century,” he said.
“Catering to new and existing residents, it is designed to create a new heart for Eastlakes … it will further build on the almost 60-year history of the shopping centre and its longstanding connection with the local community.”
Crown Group confirmed the shopping centre would feature up to 80 restaurants, cafes, shops and supermarkets when complete.
The project has drawn criticism from a local MP and Bayside Council in recent weeks.
Heffron state Labor MP Ron Hoenig called it an “inappropriate overdevelopment”, while Bayside Council wrote to the Department of Planning in May asking for the latest proposal to be rejected.
The 490-unit proposal has been scaled back since it was first put forward, with developers at one stage asking for 600 apartments to be erected in buildings up to 14 storeys.
The proposal was reduced following widespread criticism including from Sydney Airport.
A Department of Planning spokesman told NewsLocal they had chosen major projects to fast track to create jobs across the state.
“We are working to a target of creating or supporting 30,000 construction and operational jobs within the next six months,” the spokesman added.
The Eastlakes Live site includes a south and north site. The increase in units and building heights relates to the south site only.
Work on the north site has already begun and is expected to be completed in mid 2021. Work on the south site will begin after that, which includes the new shopping centre.