Auburn: Work begins on Mirvac business park at Manchester Rd

It was originally earmarked for nearly 3000 homes but construction has started on a 14-hectare industrial site in western Sydney that is tipped to generate 1000 jobs.

Development firm Mirvac has started construction on its $300 million business estate at Auburn, to be known as Switchyard, where the project will generate 700 construction jobs and 1000 permanent jobs once completed in 2023.

Developers PAYCE initially wanted to build 2900 apartments on the 14-hectare site at 300 Manchester Rd, a project that sparked controversy because of its industrial location and distance from public transport.

But Mirvac took over the site in October 2019 and dumped the residential project in favour of the business estate, which will support several industries, including production and manufacturing, once completed.

Mirvac’s head of integrated investment portfolio Campbell Hanan said customer interest in the estate had been strong with companies booking more than 38 per cent of the estate.

Construction has started at Mirvac’s 14-hectare industrial estate at Manchester Rd, Auburn.

“Switchyard is the first project to commence within our $2.3 billion industrial development pipeline and highlights our capability in delivering these state-of-the-art precincts across NSW,’’ Mr Hanan said.

“Our vision has been well received by the market with significant interest from a range of customers from recreation uses to a range of manufacturing, pet supply distributors and a cafe — set to provide local amenity for future employees and the broader community.’’

Campbell Hanan and Richard Seddon from Mirvac, Aunty Rowena, Nathan Thomas from Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing and Meg Dutta from Mirvac mark the start of construction at Switchyard.

The site will have 72,000sq m of floor space, and is expected to benefit from significant infrastructure investment, including the $16.8 billion WestConnex which will improve connections from the Inner West to the CBD, through to Port Botany, via a new underground M4-M5 link. Stage three is under construction and due for completion in 2023.

Mirvac plans to upgrade the intersection of Chisholm and Manchester roads to accommodate extra traffic flowing into the new estate.

Mr Hanan said more than three million people within a 40-minute drive would have access to Switchyard, “ideally located to service e-commerce demand”.

The business park is expected to be open next year.

“The delivery of this facility is ideally timed with low vacancy rates and strong customer demand for new high quality industrial space,’’ he said.

“Switchyard has the potential to deliver strong employment outcomes and support the needs of the community and future workforce, as well as contributing to the NSW post pandemic recovery.’’

Switchyard has set a target for five-star green sustainability rating and will have features including smart metering systems to track and control energy use, LED lighting to reduce electricity costs, rooftop and hot water solar, electrical vehicle charging stations, recycled rainwater for onsite irrigation.

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Originally published as Auburn: Work begins on Mirvac business park at Manchester Rd