Scion Lodges Shoptop Plans for West Ryde

Sydney developer Scion Group has filed plans for a $60-million residential shoptop  development at Sydney’s West Ryde.

Ryde City Council is considering a development application for a seven-storey building on just under 2000sq m at 2-6 Chatham Road, about 12km north-west of the CBD.

Scion, an arm of the Sydney property developer and builder Ventus, plans a mix of 62 one, two and three-bedroom apartments across six floors, above total ground-floor retail of about 340 square metres. The retail will be broken up into five premises with floor plans of 30 to 100 square metres.

The lodged documents call for basement parking for 86 vehicles, including 11 commercial spaces.

There will be about 860sq m of communal open space located on the ground floor and the roof, which will include terrace decking, seating and barbecue facilities.

Single-storey buildings, now housing a carwash, petrol station, a workshop for mechanical repairs, and popular Japanese eatery Tatsuya, will be demolished to make way for the new development.

The project is designed by Tony Owen Partners, in Sydney.

▲ Scion acquired the land for the $27.5 million development in October of 2021.

Scion confirmed it had acquired the three combined lots in October 2021, paying $14.1 million.

The irregular-shaped site, which is part of the West Ryde town centre and on the edge of the retail core precinct, has frontages to Chatham Road, Dickson Avenue and Dickson Lane.

In March of 2021, an amendment to Ryde’s local environmental plan 2014 allowed for a maximum building height of 24m and increased floor space ratios.

However, the Scion plans call for a slightly higher building height of 26.4 metres. The developer has lodged a Clause 4.6 Variation, which in certain circumstances will allow changes to the building controls.

Scion development manager Georgio Jabbour said he did not expect a problem with exceeding the building height.

“From the very get-go in our pre-lodgement meetings we consulted with council, and they were very happy for us to exceed the height level with the communal open area on the rooftop,” Jabbour said.

Jabbour is one of four brothers who work for Scion with their father, Sam Jabbour.

Jabbour, the elder, arrived in Australia from Beirut in Lebanon in the early 1990s. The civil engineer started Ventus Constructions with his brother-in-law in 1993. About a year ago, he began Scion with his sons.