Carter Williamson Design for Parramatta Highrise Wins Nod

Carter Williamson Architects has won the Design Excellence Competition for 188 George Street—a 55-storey tower comprising 302 apartments between George Street and the Parramatta River. The scheme will now progress to detailed design development. The plan was recognised for its civic contribution, environmental performance and response to the adjacent heritage-listed Harrisford House. It drew strong endorsement from the jury, which said “a new building at this location has the potential to achieve landmark status and make a significant contribution to the future image of the Parramatta CBD”. Carter Williamson Architects principal Shaun Carter said the project reflected a broader design philosophy around density and public benefit. “This project is about what density can give back,” Carter said. “We saw this as an opportunity to shape a building that strengthens the public realm, creates places for people to gather and connects the city to the river.” Co-principal Ben Peake said the slender tower form was central to the scheme’s environmental and amenity outcomes allowing “for excellent daylight, natural cross ventilation and outlook, while the ground plane becomes a shared civic space”. “It is a model for how highrise housing can be both generous and deeply rooted in its context,” Peake said. ▲ Renderings of the 55-storey highrise proposal for 188 George Street. The project was developed by a multidisciplinary team including Land and Form, Prism Facades, Finding Infinity and garigarra—a design firm led by Wiradjuri man Matte McConnell who “works with architecture and design teams to ensure Country is meaningfully embedded into every stage of a project”. Slender tower proposal pushes planning limits Meanwhile, a 37-storey tower on a compact block proposed for Western Sydney would bring 174 apartments, rooftop communal terraces and commercial space to one of the Parramatta CBD’s most transit-connected addresses. Conceived as a slender tower with communal space at its crown and commercial activity at its ground level, the building is proposed for a 822sq m site at 31 Cowper Street. The project would push Parramatta’s density envelope—reaching more than four times the site’s mapped floor space ratio—in a precinct the state has identified as a metropolitan anchor. The $105-million application was lodged by the Trustee for Statewide Planning Trust, with Sam Farhan of Linx Constructions listed as project owner and Planning Ingenuity Pty Ltd as the primary planning contact. Delete Declared a State Significant Development (SSD) and endorsed by the NSW Housing Delivery Authority, the proposal would now progress through an Environmental Impact Statement and Planning Proposal. ASIC records show Statewide Planning Pty Ltd—the corporate trustee for Statewide Planning Trust—has its principal place of business at 31 Cowper Street, the same address as the development site and the registered address as Demian Property Group Pty Ltd. Designed by Tony Owen Partners, the building would adopt a podium-and-tower form. Commercial spaces across the two lowest podium levels would take up approximately 118sq m, with apartments beginning above six levels of podium parking. Three basement levels would service residents, visitors and commercial users. Indicative building and facade designs ( pictured above ) have been produced to support the scoping report and SEARs request. Further design development would occur as the project advances through the planning pathway. The 174-apartment mix comprises 54 one, 108 two and 12 three-bedroom homes across 30 residential levels. Communal open space at podium and rooftop levels would include landscaping, seating and outdoor recreation areas. A slender tower form would maximise solar access, cross-ventilation and outlook across the residential floors. ▲ An industry source said Statewide Planning, owned by Charlie Demian, bought the site in 2017 for $7.3 million. Affordable housing would be incorporated with the potential for a proportion of the residential gross floor area to be retained as affordable housing in perpetuity. About 300m from the Parramatta and Harris Park railway stations, the site is zoned MU1 Mixed Use under the Parramatta Local Environmental Plan 2023. The proposed floor space ratio of 18.2:1 and building height of 116m exceed the mapped 4:1 FSR and 80m height controls and are both variations to be assessed on merit through the SSD pathway, according to the scoping report prepared for Demian Property Group. Parramatta pipeline progresses The Parramatta CBD is attracting significant development activity across multiple typologies, with Holdmark Property Group last month receiving approval for a 33-storey hotel and 23-storey office tower at 197-207 Church Street after nearly five years of assessment. Separately, the developer is seeking fast-track approval under the Housing Delivery Authority pathway for a 72-storey residential tower at 2-10 Valentine Avenue proposing around 600 apartments. It is also progressing a masterplan at Melrose Park on the Parramatta River that would ultimately deliver more than 7000 homes across several stages alongside retail, community and open space uses.

Carter Williamson Design for Parramatta Highrise Wins Nod

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