Scentre Group to Develop $500 Million Parramatta Skyscraper
Retail landlord Scentre Group has lodged revised plans for a 42-storey tower to be built on top of Westfield Parramatta.
Scentre is the owner and manager of the 39 Westfield shopping centres in Australia and New Zealand.
The retail group co-owns Westfield Parramatta with GIC and proposed a 25-storey office development above the shopping centre back in 2014.
New plans, submitted to Parramatta Council this week, reveal a taller tower with larger floor plates spanning 3,025sq m creating a total of 112,000sq m of office space.
The proposed Woods Bagot-designed skyscraper, will be located on the corner of Argyle and Church streets.
Changes have been made in response concerns voiced by the Parramatta Council with the main office lobby and entrance will be relocated from Church Street to Argyle Street.
The building will also be moved further to the west of the site about midway between Church and Marsden streets, to avoid demolition of the existing five-storey retail podium.
“Westfield Parramatta is one of the strongest performing centres in our portfolio,” a Scentre Group spokesperson told The Urban Developer.
“We are looking forward to it's continued growth given its position in Sydney’s second CBD and plans for further investment in infrastructure and education.”
“We are working with the authorities seeking approval of our concept plans for commercial offices in Parramatta. We have no further updates to provide at this stage.”
Last month, Scentre Group acquired a 50 per cent stake in Westfield Eastgardens in Sydney’s south-eastern suburbs for $720 million.
The group also completed a $80 million redevelopment at Westfield Plenty Valley in Melbourne adding more than 100,000sq m of space the company's portfolio.
Scentre Group on Tuesday reported that its statutory net profit was up 3.6 per cent to $1.46 billion for the half year ending June 30.
The groups underlying revenue rose 6.5 per cent to $1.28 billion.
Scentre Group chief executive Peter Allen said the group had improved its exposure to the south-eastern suburbs of Sydney through the acquisition of 50 per cent of Westfield Eastgardens.
“The physical store is influencing sales across all channels including in-store, online and marketplaces as well as enabling ‘click and collect’ and last mile distribution,” Allen said.
“This reinforces the pivotal role that physical stores play in the retail ecosystem.”
The group's next big project is at Barangaroo Central in Sydney which will see Scentre deliver and operate the retail component.
