A revised plan for a 320-apartment build-to-rent development in Parramatta, with half the homes earmarked for affordable housing, is facing renewed public scrutiny. The proposal for Gregory Place in Harris Park, located 22km west of Sydney’s CBD, has been significantly altered since its initial 483-home version was exhibited in 2022. The site, currently occupied by a 1950s factory, is situated approximately 800m east of Parramatta Station and 650m northeast of Harris Park Station.
The new design, submitted by 2A Gregory Place, features seven freestanding buildings ranging from two to eight storeys. Half of the apartments would be leased as affordable housing at 80% of market rent for at least 15 years. The Independent Planning Commission is now seeking community input on the project, which has drawn local attention due to its previous scale and proximity to state and national heritage sites.
Heritage Concerns and Local Opposition
The development would neighbour several historic landmarks, including the state heritage-listed Experiment Farm Cottage on Ruse Street, part of Australia’s first convict land grant awarded to James Ruse in 1789. Also of historic significance, Hambledon Cottage, built in 1824 for colonial entrepreneur John Macarthur, sits on the corner of Hassall Street and Gregory Place. Nearby, Elizabeth Farm, dating back to 1793, houses the oldest surviving European building in Australia. A community petition has called for the protection of the skyline, including the 1970s Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral. The site also falls within the Parramatta Sand Body, an area of archaeological and cultural significance associated with pre-colonial First Nation occupation.
The City of Parramatta Council was among objectors to the original proposal, raising concerns about flooding, built form, heritage, and its relationship with the surrounding area. The revised plan has reduced the number of car parking spaces from 634 to 359. According to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure’s SSD amendment report, these changes aim to mitigate the project’s impact on the surrounding heritage and cultural environment.
Parramatta’s Growing Build-to-Rent Sector
Gregory Place is one of several major build-to-rent proposals and approvals in the planning or development pipeline across the Parramatta LGA. Freecity has proposed a 618-unit, 40-storey build-to-rent tower at 1 Barrack Lane, including 235 apartments capable of being converted to dual-key arrangements. The NSW Government has expanded plans for the Parramatta Metro station precinct to include a 43-storey, 470-unit build-to-rent tower alongside 500 student accommodation units.
In June, Urban Property Group’s 2 Fitzwilliam Street mixed-use development with 713 build-to-rent units was approved under the fast-tracked SSD. A growing build-to-rent pipeline across the LGA includes about 4700 BTR homes that are proposed, approved, or in the planning system as part of a much broader expansion of build-to-rent accommodation across the state.