Early-stage plans have been submitted for a trio of towers of almost 500 apartments for an evolving centre in Sydney’s south-west.
A scoping report for the proposal in the Leppington region has been filed with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure on behalf of 21 Derwent Road Pty Ltd, a vehicle of Mark and Roy Makari, according to ASIC documents.
The project was among the first to be nominated and fast-tracked as a State Significant Development by the Housing Delivery Authority, earlier this year.
The proposal is for its site at 184-186 Fifth Avenue, Austral, about 50km west of the Sydney CBD by road.
It is preparing for a State Significant Development Application as well as a rezoning proposal after the successful fast-track submission to the SSD pathway by project managers Creative Vision Corp.
The initial plans for the 19,120sq m site comprise three mixed-use towers containing 495 apartments.
There will be a mix of market housing including 10 per cent as affordable units, designed with a yet-to-be-chosen community housing provider.
The northern building would have a two-to-four-storey podium fronting Fifth Avenue, comprising commercial uses and potential for a childcare centre, and a built form stepping down from 18 storeys to 10 and 8 storeys.
The central building would have a four-storey podium and drop from 17 storeys to nine.
A more slender built form was planned for the southern building and its 15 to 14 storey step-down, the scoping report said.
The report, submitted in anticipation of project-specific secretary’s environmental assessment requirements (SEARs) to enable the progression of a rezoning report and environmental impact statement, also details a communal park.
The proposed public open space would cover about 37 per cent of the site, 7000sq m, and includes part of Scalabrini Creek.
The site on the traditional land of the Gundungurra, Tharawal and Dharug people is in Leppington Town Centre, 1.1km from Leppington Train Station, an area undergoing considerable transformation.
As part of plans, the developers want to amend the Liverpool Growth Centres Precinct Plan to increase heights to 59.9m in the high-density portion of the site, and propose a floor space ratio of 4.68:1 rather than the 2:1 of the Leppington town centre planning proposal.
The report said this was due to the “significant feasibility challenges” at Leppington.
“The increased floor space ratios and corresponding building height will result in a more viable development outcome,” it said.
The Austral project would join a raft of others in the area as development in south-west Sydney rises, including Aland’s eight-tower plan and a seven-block precinct by Byron Development.
Interest in the area began to increase after the announcement in 2023 that the government wanted to attract higher density development to the predominantly rural area.
