Council stakes claim to new Parramatta super site

City of Parramatta Council is expanding its property holdings and has bought a building in Wentworth Street in a $64m deal.

The council purchase of 9 Wentworth St from Chinese-backed developer Mayrin Group will see it shift into the building and gives it control of a new supersite as it also owns a neighbouring car park.

Western Sydney authority the City of Parramatta Council is expanding its property holdings and has bought a building in Wentworth Street in a $64m deal.

The council purchase of 9 Wentworth St from Chinese-backed developer Mayrin Group will see it shift into the building and gives it control of a new supersite as it also owns a neighbouring car park.

For Mayrin, the deal represented a slim profit after it picked up the building for $62.6m from the Charter Hall Direct PFA Fund three years ago. The seven-storey office building constructed in 1988 sits in the western precinct of Parramatta. Major tenants include the Commonwealth of Australia, the Australian Business Academy, and the Australian College of Nursing. It sits near Parramatta’s rail interchange and one of NSW’s largest retail centres Westfield Parramatta, and the city’s famous Eat Street.

The A-Grade office tower spans about 7650sq m and carries mixed-use zoning, with the substantial combined site supporting its medium to long-term redevelopment potential.

More than $35bn in infrastructure investment is underway in western Sydney, from which Parramatta will be a major benefactor.

Parramatta Council this year brought together Parramatta Square’s landowners and tenants in a powerful alliance to cement the $2.7bn hub as the area’s heart.

The Parramatta Square Precinct Alliance Charter it struck includes Walker Corporation, NAB, Western Sydney University, the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment and Charter Hall.

“Parramatta Square is one of the biggest urban regeneration projects this country has ever seen, setting a new Australian benchmark for office space, retail and dining,” City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Bob Dwyer said.

“With major projects such as Parramatta Square, Powerhouse Parramatta, Sydney Metro West and the Parramatta Light Rail transforming our City, council needed an office space that would serve our organisation and community well into the future,” he added.

The deal was brokered by Colliers International’s John McCann and Knight Frank’s Tyler Talbot and Dominic Ong.

The Commonwealth space is occupied by the Department of Home Affairs and accounts for 62 per cent of the tower.