More affordable housing units could soon be on the way to North Parramatta, if plans for a new seven-storey mixed-use development are given the green light.
A Development Application (DA) recently lodged with Parramatta Council has revealed plans to deliver 45 new residential apartments and three ground retail tenancies to the area.
If approved, the mixed-use development will be built on a site of 2025sqm at 132 Victoria Road, North Parramatta.
According to the Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE), the proposed development will deliver a significant number of affordable housing dwellings to the local area.
“The apartments will also improve housing supply and place downward pressure on housing prices overall,” the document said.
“The proposed retail tenancies will also help meet employment targets and improve the standard of living of both site residents and visitors, in line with ‘30-minute city’ principles.”
The proposed building is considered to be in a “favourable” location, with shopping and employment hubs, health care and open space areas all in close proximity.
The Western Sydney University Parramatta campus and future Yallamundi station on the under-construction Parramatta Light Rail will also be approximately 500 metres to the east of the development.
27 out of the 45 proposed apartments are to be affordable apartments, with five out of the 45 apartments to serve as adaptable apartments to meet the needs of people with disabilities.
The SEE said the proposed development recognises that there needs to be diversity in affordable housing to meet the needs of all those who require it, including larger families and households.
“The suburb of North Parramatta has a number of social and economic disadvantages when compared to the broader Parramatta LGA,” it said.
“There is a clear need for affordable rental housing choices within this community which the proposed 27 affordable units respond to.”
The development’s three basement levels will provide 125 car parking spaces, with an additional 51 spaces available for bicycles.
A communal rooftop open space is also proposed to be constructed on top of the building, which residents will be able to use and is set to include a children’s play area, covered and uncovered seating areas, a communal outdoor kitchen and BBQ, as well as vegetative landscaping.
The application also acknowledges the height of the proposal, at 26.5 metres, exceeds the mapped 15 metre height limit for the site.
The DA is currently being advertised on the City of Parramatta website.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.