Meriton’s gleaming Parramatta tower given approval

DEVELOPER Meriton has won development approval for Parramatta’s tallest apartment tower, a gleaming 67-level riverfront building, and an adjoining hotel.

The glass-faced 180 George will have 535 apartments overlooking the Parramatta River to the Sydney CBD skyline and will include a major supermarket and a 75-place childcare centre.

The second tower will be a 58-floor Meriton Suites hotel with 346 suites and associated guest facilities.

Meriton founder Harry Triguboff yesterday applauded the Sydney Central City Planning Panel for giving the 180 George project ‘such a positive green light’.

He said the approval acknowledged that the towers would be major contributors to a transformation of central Parramatta that would create thousands of jobs and include the nearby $2 billion Parramatta Square redevelopment.

“Our 180 George towers will be riverfront landmarks gracing the skyline in what had emerged as Sydney’s second CBD.”

The Woods Bagot-designed 180 George towers are the result of a comprehensive design competition and are being built on part of a 7978sqm site on which Meriton 15 years ago undertook a four -building project, Westport.

Three of those buildings are being razed to make way for 180 George, with the fourth building being retained and its 146 apartments being upgraded.

The apartments in the new 180 George residential tower will range from one to four-bedroom configurations, some with media rooms, study rooms and entertainment terraces.

Six high-speed smart lifts will service the tower and resident facilities will include a community room, an indoor pool, sauna and gymnasium, and 1200sqm of podium gardens with a barbecue area.

Meriton says its 180 George proposal, in scale and density, aligns with the vision of the Parramatta council to deliver Sydney’s second CBD, with unashamedly tall buildings of world-class design and a reinvigorated city centre, public domain and waterfront.

The group has committed to an additional value capture payment of $7.2 million to help the council with its public domain improvement plans in Parramatta, like the adjoining Charles Street Square project.

This project will also include the upgrade of the Parramatta ferry terminal, providing a direct public transport option directly in front of 180 George and linking to the Sydney CBD.

Meriton also is providing public access links around its building to provide safe, activated and flood-free access for the broader public.

The 180 George towers, which will include dining options and will overlook the adjoining James Ruse Park, will rise in an area laced with offices.

The Meriton site is one-block from the Parramatta light rail, which is under construction,  and 650 metres from the Parramatta station.

Construction of the Sydney Metro West will begin next year, with a connected stop at Parramatta a 15-minute ride from the Sydney CBD.

The 54-year-old Meriton group is far from a newcomer in Parramatta.

Its last project, completed in 2017, was twin riverfront towers on a former David Jones department store site in Church Street.

Altitude consisted of a sell-out 54-level residential building with 377 apartments and a 36-floor Meriton suites hotel.

Altitude was named Development of the Year 2018 by The Urban Taskforce.