Future metropolises key to solving housing crisis
Modern communities are springing up in new parts of our cities via ambitious projects that hint at a possible solution to the housing crisis.
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Throngs of strategically designed communities centred around critical amenities are springing up across Sydney and other major Australia capitals through a range of projects that promise to transform the city in the years ahead.
These masterplanned projects mix high, medium and low density housing in ways that have rarely been seen in NSW, harnessing technologies and planning principles that could redefine city living for residents.
And with similar projects being undertaken elsewhere, they could be a window to the future make up of all Australian metropolises, from coast to coast.
SEE PROJECTS BELOW
Some of the forward-thinking amenities included in these communities are car share schemes, ecological corridors, solar power, public office nooks, means to recycle stormwater and more.
One of the most significant projects is the $332m Tallawong Village in Rouse Hill, which will add nearly 1000 new homes to the area and 900sqm of retail and commercial space anchored around a new park.
The first stage is set to open midway through next year, with the community to be finished by 2027.
There’s also Midtown at Macpark in the northwest, which will include 3300 homes by completion in 2032, with the NSW government committing to a new 750 student “vertical school” within the precinct.
Shared amenities will include cycling and walking tracks, skate parks, an adventure playground and the 3300sq m central Village Green.
Multiple communities are planned for southwest Sydney, with Mirvac General Manager Residential Development NSW Toby Long describing the coming airport at Western Sydney as a “gamechanger” for unlocking housing supply in the area.
“The growth in local employment opportunities (means) the distance to the CBD is less relevant,” he said.
“Major centres like Campbelltown and Camden are important work hubs and we have many buyers citing proximity to Nancy Bird Walton Airport and the Aerotropolis as one of their reasons to buy.”
Mirvac has two major projects in the area – a master planned community supplying about 300 new lots at Menangle, along with a business park, and a $648m project for 900 homes at Cobbity, set for completion in 2027.
The latter community is proposed to feature a playing field and village green, town centre, a lake and a range of parks and landscaped open spaces.
Walker Corporation is developing Appin Grove in nearby MacArthur, which will include zoning for nearly 12,000 homes. The early phase will consist of 336 homes.
The masterplanned community will involve new town centres, with local council, the developer and state government working towards the provision of wellness and recreation centres, sports complexes, amphitheatres and other public spaces.
Walker Corp founder Lang Walker said the model for new masterplanned communities involved a mix of density.
“Master-planned communities have always been about the great Australian dream of owning your own home with a backyard for the kids,” he said. “We believe the right mix of masterplanned communities today, can include the town centres, terraces and medium density, providing housing choice to help the government make solid inroads into the housing supply crisis.”
More projects could be underway if the Minns Government embarks on similar initiatives to the Rosehill racecourse redevelopment announced earlier this week.
The proposed redevelopment, which saw Premier Chris Minns sign a memorandum of understanding with the Australian Turf Club, could see the track replaced with a school, metro station, entertainment facilities and 25,000 homes.
It comes as housing experts warn that more well-designed masterplanned communities are urgently needed to address critical housing shortages.
ABS statistics revealed 46,595 new homes were given the nod in the year to October, an 11 per cent drop from a year ago and the lowest amount since 2013.
Housing approvals are dangerously short of the level needed to accommodate swelling population growth and the federal government housing delivery targets.
HIA analysis showed 75,192 homes would need to be built in NSW each year for the Federal Government to reach its national target of building 1.2 million homes by 2027/28.
HIA chief economist Tim Reardon said housing approvals over the last year were closer to the level of those approved in the early 1970s when Sydney was half the size it is now.
“One of the problems we have is that local councils are not incentivised to supply new housing like state government, which collects stamp duty revenue,” Mr Reardon said.
“The key to getting more housing will be ensuring local councils can supply new infrastructure and they will need more support from state government.”
Jessica, 28, and Lachlan, 24, Abramson recently snapped up a block of land in the Mirvac masterplanned community Cobbity in Sydney’s southwest and said having a new town centre was part of the appeal.
“It will be very convenient for us,” Ms Abramson said, adding that they’re hoping their new home will be built next year.
“Everything will be more close to us and knowing that everything will be brand new is nice,” she said. “There’s lot of greenery and space. It was a better option for us than buying an established house.”
MASTERPLANNED ESTATES ACROSS SYDNEY
EAST SIDE QUARTER PENRITH
Location: Penrith
Date of completion: Stage 1 (One East Side): completed in 2020; Stage 2 (Aqua): under construction – 2024 completion; Stage 3 (Eden): 2025 Completion; Stage 4+5: DA submitted
No. of dwellings: 850 apartments within 11 buildings will be delivered over five separate stages + 3,500sq m of retail.
East Side Quarter, Penrith is a 6.5Ha urban village developed by architecture and interior design firm, Turner; landscape architects, Occulis and project developer, Cabe.
Set among a transformed public domain, the precinct will deliver waterfront dining and retail, neighbourhood retail, resort-style amenities, and 850 contemporary residences across five stages, some with panoramic Blue Mountains views.
The $700m+ development is designed to connect into a network of pedestrian and cycleways surrounding the site, with new linkages connecting the quarter with the greater Panthers precinct, the Nepean River, the River Walk and Penrith station.
NORWEST QUARTER
Location: Norwest City, Hills District
Date of completion: 2024
No. of dwellings: Stage One – 184 apartments over two buildings, Banksia and Lacebark.
Featuring two residential apartment buildings, the Banksia and Lacebark, Norwest Quarter aims to create Zero Carbon Living with no carbon emissions.
The development features a rooftop pool, library, native garden, community veggie patch, and resident lounge. Also available are bookable spaces including a private dining room, bar, and office nooks amongst other offerings.
The Banksia, designed by Bates Smart, is a perfect square, with apartments arranged around a central core and a public plaza filled with native plants and flowers. The second building, Lacebark, designed by Smart Design Studio, offers light-filled one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and three-bedroom penthouses.
TALLAWONG VILLAGE
Location: Rouse Hill
Date of completion: Stage 1 in June 2024
No. of dwellings: Total dwellings 987 + 9,000sq m of retail and commercial
The new residential, retail and commercial precinct, Tallawong Village has been extremely popular amongst purchasers, with Stage 1 already sold out.
Consisting of 987 apartments, as well as two-level townhouses spread over 17 separate buildings, Tallawong Village provides a range of housing types.
“Anchored by a large landscaped public park at the centre of a range of convenient retail and commercial tenants, including supermarket, cafes, gym and even a Service NSW outlet, Tallawong Village will be an exciting destination for the whole community,” said Executive Manager, Corporate Communications for Deicorp.
HILLS SHOWGROUND VILLAGE
Location: Castle Hill
Date of completion: stage 1, July 2025
No. of dwellings: Total dwellings 430 + 10,900sq m of retail and commercial
Hills Showground Village is a residential and retail community delivering a range of apartments located next door to the new Hills Showground Metro Station.
Designed and developed by Deicorp and Turner Architects, the project consists of four towers with 430, 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments as well as a full-line supermarket, cafes and restaurants, retail shopping downstairs and a new piazza.
“For people who love living in the local area but might not be able to afford to buy a house, Hills Showground Village offers a fantastic alternative that is affordable and fantastically well located,” said Robert Furolo – Executive Manager, Corporate Communications for Deicorp.
THE GABLES
Location: The Hills Shire
Date of completion: About 2030
No. of dwellings: Currently 1,400 homes, with an estimated 3,400 residents
The Gables is a masterplanned community that will have 75Ha of planned green space, including local parks and two sports fields. There’s a proposed 4Ha lake, future retail town centre with speciality stores and main grocer and 16km of planned cycleways and pathways.
Existing and future schools are Santa Sophia Catholic College, future ASPECT Autism Spectrum school and future NSW Government primary school and childcare centres.
Included in the plan will be a future over 55s community.
The food and beverage precinct was constructed using reclaimed and salvaged materials.
NORMAN ESTATES
Location: Gledswood Hills
Completion date: December 2024
Number of dwellings: 190
Sekisui House have collaborated with golfing hall of famer and business entrepreneur, Greg Norman to curate a community that reflects not just a new way of living – but the best of life. This innovative partnership brings together Greg Norman’s unique lifestyle philosophy with 190 of Sekisui House’s distinctive architecturally designed SHAWOOD homes in a landmark residential community. 186 of the 190 SHAWOOD homes at Norman Estates are either currently under construction or already completed. Under 50% of homes remain for sale.
MIDTOWN MACPARK
Location: Macquarie Park
Date of completion: Community c2032
No. of dwellings: 3300
An all-electric mixed tenure community of apartments and townhouses, Midtown MacPark is within walking distance of the shopping opportunities of the Macquarie Centre, Macquarie University, and the new North West metro railway station.
Stage 2 of the new metro is expected to open in 2024 and a train will connect Macquarie Park to the Sydney CBD in approximately 20 minutes.
The development will be a carbon neutral community in operation with provision for a car share scheme, solar power and the reuse of stormwater.
COBBITTY BY MIRVAC
Location: Cobbitty
Date of completion: Anticipated 2027
No. of dwellings: Approx 900 lots
Cobbitty by Mirvac offers diverse lot sizes from 250sqm to over 1,000sqm. Vast amounts of open green space with a lake, village green, community parks, neighbourhood centre, walking paths and a possible public primary school are proposed for this 900-lot estate close to Oran Park, Camden and the charming village of Cobbitty. Lots in the first stage are nearing registration with future lots to be progressively released through 2024.
THE VILLAGE, MENANGLE
Location: Menangle
Date of completion: Anticipated 2025
No. of dwellings: Approx. 380 lots
Around 50 homes have been built and many more are under construction in the 380-lot estate, about 10 minutes’ drive from Macarthur Square in Campbelltown. The 1.35Ha Rotolactor Park, with a playground, barbecue and picnic shelters overlooking adjoining farmlands was recently completed and a second community park is proposed within the eastern part of The Village, Menangle. The two parks will ultimately be linked with a new shared pedestrian bridge over the rail line.
APPIN GROVE
Location: Macarthur region, Southwest Sydney
Appin Grove will include 259 homes about 20 minutes from Macarthur Square shopping precinct. Developer Walker Corp was also recently granted rezoning for three other major Appin communities which are now in planning.
The Greater Macarthur growth region will eventually be home to 40,000 residents.
New town centres will ensure residents live within minutes of schools, childcare, shops, wellness and recreation centres, sports complexes, amphitheatres, parks and public spaces.
500Ha will be dedicated to the protection and conservation of the surrounding habitat.
STOCKLAND LAKESIDE
Location: Gledswood Hills, Camden Council
Date of completion: 2025
No. of dwellings: 442 lots total upon completion over 6 distinct precincts.
Description: Set over 34.25Ha, many residents of Lakeside will enjoy views over Lakeside Golf Club Camden.
Upon completion there will be 2.13Ha of open space, including four local parks. These will offer BBQ and picnic facilities with water views of the Golf Course, playgrounds to cater to different age groups, nature based water play, kick about zones, and spaces to rest and relax.
Lot sizes range from 250sq m to 718sq m, with a variety of land only, or house and land packages available.
MARSDEN PARK PRECINCT
Name of estate: Elara
Location: Marsden Park
Date of completion: 2026
No. of dwellings: up to 10,300 dwellings across entire precinct
Situated in Sydney’s northwest, with over 40 hectares of open green space, Elara in Marsden Park positions itself as a family-friendly community featuring two local school options, as well as parks and an all-inclusive and water-themed playground.
The Elara Village Shopping Centre offers access to essential services for all residents, with a Coles Supermarket and 16 specialty stores. There are also plans for aged care and childcare services and further public transport routes underway.
Developed by Stockland, the $102m+ community features a range of house and land, terrace and townhouse options, with new land releases coming soon.
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