By Rich Harvey, CEO & Founder, propertybuyer.com.au
If you were to travel in time a decade or so, you might not recognise large parts of Sydney - such is the scale of infrastructure investment right now.
This week, the Harbour City celebrated the opening of the new stage of the major Metro project, which is the biggest and most expensive transport initiative Australia has ever seen.
It’s a real beauty, comprising 51 kilometres of line from Chatswood in the north of Sydney all the way to Sydenham in the inner-west, with six new stations that are architectural marvels.
A fleet of 45 automated driverless trains means the Metro is essentially schedule-less, with fast services so frequent that you can just show up.
The impact this project will have on communities, dramatically boosting accessibility and sparking urban renewal and gentrification, will be significant.
But it’s just the start.
More Metro on the way
The first stage of Sydney Metro opened back in 2019 with a high-speed stretch running from Chatswood to Tallawong.
It now links to phase two, which opened this week, and will soon link to the Southwest line between Sydenham and Bankstown.
It’s due to begin operation next year.
Sydney Metro West, another expansion, was under a cloud for a while following the change of government and some budgetary concerns.
But it has been green-lit, which will see a line run through key hubs like Balmain, Five Dock, North Strathfield, Sydney Olympic Park, Parramatta and Westmead.
It will take a little longer, tipped to open in 2032.
The government is encouraging the development of medium-density residential housing surrounding Metro stations, throwing incentives as project proponents - especially those including affordable housing.
Any suburb where there is a new Metro will be easier to get to, more pleasant to live in, and a likely a beneficiary of gentrification.
Western Sydney Airport
Sydney will soon get a second airport out near Penrith, with operations set to begin in less than two years’ time.
This major initiative will be transformative and generate broad economic, employment and infrastructure investment in the surrounding region.
As well as the international airport, operating without a dreaded curfew and offering a convenient alternative for those who don’t live in central Sydney and surrounds, there will be an Aerotropolis.
Essentially a new city itself, it will aim to attract advanced manufacturing, research and development, professional services, creative industries and STEM-focused educational facilities, as well as emerging aerospace and defence industries.
All up, it’s expected the region will support some 100,000 jobs when complete.
In areas not effected by airport noise, expect major residential developments as well as hotels, public spaces, sprawling parklands and cultural infrastructure.
A dedicated Metro line is being built, connecting the new Bradfield City Centre to the airport, onto St Marys to the north, currently serviced by intercity rail.
Then, a future planned extension of the Metro will link St Marys and Tallawong, thus providing a convenient high-speed Metro link to the Sydney CBD.
When we look back on this project in a decade or two, it will rank as the start of an exciting era in Sydney’s evolution.
eM12 Motorway
A new 16 kilometre east-to-west motorway from the M7 near Cecil Hills and the Northern Road at Luddenham will dramatically improve road travel in the far-western region. It will serve as a major access route for the Western Sydney Airport as well as linking to the city’s existing motorway network.
The Northern Road link is a huge 35 kilometre stretch from Narellan to South Penrith, so being able to tap into that will improve connectivity between Sydney’s third CBD and the rapidly expanding Oran Park region.Big ticket road projects that make getting around an area - and thus living in it - more convenient are always a good thing for housing markets.
Tech Central Precinct
Wander around the western boundaries of Central Station at the moment and you won’t find many reasons to return too soon.
It’s dingy, a little rough, short on things to do and completely ignoring its massive potential. But not for long.
Homegrown tech success story Atlassian it's building its global headquarters there in a spectacular skyscraper that will transform this under-utilised chunk of prime real estate.
The facility will include an expansive public lobby with retail and dining, a new home for the Railway Square YHA on the first several levels, and then 30-odd floors for the company’s staff.
It will be the centrepiece of a new precinct called Tech Central, which is Sydney’s biggest commercial development in a decade.
Backed by a $2.5 billion government investment, it will feature 150,000 square metres of workspaces over two high rises.
There will be community spaces, shared work hubs, cultural additions and retail and dining.
The whole area will be completely unrecognisable - and conveniently located next door to exceptional public transport links.
Light rail expansion
The Tech Central precinct has encouraged some big thinking for the broader stretch heading west, through Broadway.
City of Sydney has proposed an extension of the existing light rail line and subsequent improvements to pedestrian access, greenery and public spaces.
While still an idea at this stage, it would give this dreary and underwhelming part of the city a big lift.
Westmead Hospital expansion
More than $1 billion is being spent on upgrading and expanding Westmead Hospital in Sydney’s west, which is already the largest health precinct in the southern hemisphere.
There are some exciting inclusions, from new emergency departments for adults and kids, new wards and new operating theatres to research and education hubs, specialist care services, more intensive care and new public spaces.
On top of all that, the redevelopment of The Sydney Children’s Hospital at Westmead is a new paediatric services precinct comprising operating theatres, specialist care, cancer treatment, neonatal intensive care and more.
The project will make the kids hospital at Westmead one of the largest health, research, education and training precincts in the world.
New Bankstown Hospital
Once a fairly sleepy part of the city not too long ago, the Bankstown region is expected to be home to half a million people within the next decade or so.
That rapid population growth requires a major investment in new facilities, so Bankstown’s CBD is getting a new hospital.
With convenient access to public transport links, including the future Metro line, the world-class facility will include state-of-the-art services like an emergency department, intensive care, operating theatres, maternity, paediatrics and mental health.
There are plans for research and education expansions in the future.
Public consultations saw great local support, and so the masterplan is now being developed.
The improvement of critical services makes previously undesirable or off-putting areas a more attractive prospect for new generations of homebuyers and investors.
The Bankstown region has a bright future as demographics shift and urban renewal takes hold.
The twin Powerhouses
The origin of the Powerhouse Museum project is married in controversy and now Sydney will end up with not one, but two of them.
Originally, the former government wanted to build a brand-new facility in Parramatta and knock down the existing site in Ultimo to make way for developers.
Public outcry and a massive backlash over the loss of the city site saw a political u-turn and a pledge to save it.
But before that decision was made, work had already kicked off in Parramatta, which is due to be completed next year.
At that site, billed as the largest cultural infrastructure investment since the Opera House, some 18,000 square metres of museum, exhibition and public spaces will cater to a projected two million visitors a year.
It will make an exceptional addition to the rapidly expanding and glittering Parramatta CBD.
Meanwhile, the Ultimo site will be revitalised with world-class exhibition spaces and a major new public domain space.
The whole entry to the museum will be shifted so that it aligns with the Goods Line - part public park, part pedestrian thoroughfare, built on an old, elevated train track.
Public consultation on the design plans wrapped a few months ago and authorities are now reviewing submissions.
Exciting cultural and lifestyle improvements like these tend to spark gentrification and urban renewal, and these are some pretty significant projects.
Parramatta is already increasingly desirable and Ultimo has long failed to realise its full potential as a well-located and charming enclave.
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