Parramatta's Civic Place Agreement Signed

17 Aug 2006

21July 2006
Parramatta's Lord Mayor, Cr David Borger, today signed a development agreement for the city's $1.4 billion, 3 hectare development, Civic Place, with Daniel Grollo, Chief Executive Officer of Grocon.

"The private sector now has a unique opportunity to get involved in the biggest urban revitalisation project in NSW. This development gives the two million people who live in Western Sydney an exciting new city centre" Cr Borger said.

"Civic Place is going to transform Parramatta. I believed it years ago when I first heard about Council's vision for the site and today I believe it more than ever."

The Department of Local Government confirmed last month the development was one of the first to meet its new and rigorous Public Private Partnerships (PPP) guidelines.

The development agreement requires Grocon to recruit tenants to the site and the Council will obtain new facilities including a library, community and cultural spaces and five open areas.

Grocon's CEO, Daniel Grollo, said the company was looking forward to establishing a base in Parramatta by the end of the year, and working with the local community in what will be the company's biggest development and construction project.

"Grocon has experience with similar mixed use developments at No 1 Martin Place in Sydney, and QV, the transformation of a central city block in Melbourne," he said.

"It's an exciting time to be involved in the revitalisation of Parramatta and to bring a new civic heart to the city."

The Lord Mayor said the Civic Place development features many different uses, including retail, commercial, residential, community, council, civic and entertainment.

"At the heart of Civic Place will be a revitalised library, gallery and new media space. Some people say that the arts are not important because the tangible benefits of art and culture are hard to grasp â€" but not having them and not investing in them deprives our young people in Western Sydney of a cultural heritage," Cr Borger said.

"I have said before one of the biggest challenges facing Western Sydney is a talent drain of creative young people leaving the area in droves for the bright lights and urban villages of Sydney and I am going to keep saying that until the talent drain begins to stop."

"If cities in Western Sydney like Parramatta, Penrith and Liverpool are going to thrive and become the regional river cities as highlighted in the NSW Metropolitan Strategy, then we must keep and attract young, talented people. The only way we can do that is to ensure these cities become culturally interesting places."

Exciting features of Civic Place include:

Buildings in Civic Place will set new standards by adopting leading environmentally sustainable principles including grey water recycling, 4.5 star ABGR ratings and zero stormwater run-off throughout the site.

Design competitions will be held for most of the new buildings in Civic Place. A major requirement of the competitions will be to set a new standard of architectural design in Parramatta.

Construction is expected to begin late next year and it is anticipated the project will be completed by 2014.