Ashbury Terraces: $200m development secures final approval to begin
A controversial but high-value development 10km from the Sydney CBD will now break ground, adding 59 terraces and 76 units to a historic suburb. Find out where.
The Express
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After a five-year protracted battle with council and local residents, a controversial but high-value development is set to break ground in Ashbury, adding more than 120 places to live in the historic suburb.
The proposal for 165-171 Milton St, Ashbury finally secured approval from the Sydney South Planning panel last week.
The developers, Coronation Property, have put the total value of the development at upwards of $200m, and say the 59 three-bedroom terrace homes being built as part of the first stage of development will cost between $1.795m to $3.2m.
Three penthouses are also available.
It is less clear when the approved units will be built and sold, as the DA approval also allows the company to build 76 units across five residential flat buildings.
The proposal was knocked back several times by Canterbury-Bankstown Council since it was first put forward, including for going above height controls, a dispute over whether it was truly ‘mixed-use’ development, and issues around required levels of sunlight.
But an assessment report from council signed off on the development as it was, including one of the buildings being partly six storeys high, instead of the permissible five.
Early proposals from the developer included buildings as high as 12 storeys.
The dwellings are split across two residential flat buildings, with 76 units, and three buildings containing a total of 62 terraces.
The basement car park holds 258 parking spaces, 223 for residents, 28 for visitors and 25 accessible spaces.
Matt Burke is a member of the Ashbury Community Group that has been against the development and a sister development just next to it, on 149–163 Milton Street, since the land was up for rezoning in 2015.
He said it took five years to get the controls right, creating a development that was acceptable to everybody.
“Council has taken the position that those deviations from the controls are okay now, without giving much in the way of explanations,” Mr Burke said.
Aras Labutis is head of Urban Transformations at Coronation Property, and says the company responded to the community feedback.
“Since plans were submitted, we have worked closely with Canterbury Bankstown Council and town planners, designers, engineers and architects to ensure the design reflects the rich history of the site and responds to the community’s aspirations for a considerate development that enhances the suburb’s charm,” Mr Labutis said.
He says the larger style terrace homes with oversized backyards and communal amenities made the development unique in the Sydney market.
The developer for the sister development on 149-163 Milton Street, Ashbury FMBM, originally had its plans knocked back by the council and took the case to the Land and Environment Court.
Ashbury FMBM won, getting approval for eight residential buildings, including a part six storey building, with 129 units in total, and 251 parking spaces.
Coronation Property hired former NSW MP John Barilaro into its executive team after he left politics, but before he indicated he would take on a well-paid public servant job in New York, created while he was in government.
He is no longer with the company.
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