Sydney's WestConnex motorway to offer major urban renewal opportunities but Concord prices to jump

Major opportunities should arise for urban renewal following the $11.5 billion WestConnex motorway solution under Parramatta Road, says Urban Taskforce.

“The best time to drive major urban renewal is when large infrastructure projects like WestConnex are under way,” says Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson.

The 33-kilometre WestConnex motorway will link Western Sydney and South Western Sydney with the city, airport and Port Botany.

The government forecasts 25,000 new homes and 25,000 new jobs will be created over the next 20 years, but Urban Taskforce says these figures can be significantly increased with appropriate densities and heights.

“The Urban Taskforce believes that this corridor can accommodate 100,000 new apartments and 100,000 new jobs and that there are many sites available for redevelopment now.

“There is real opportunity for the NSW Government to champion a new direction for urban renewal by defining a 21st century approach to zoning, to encourage mixed use development that lead’s to a dynamic urban environment.

“There is a big trend in Sydney towards urban living in apartments and if this is linked with work locations and community amenities, we can handle significant parts of our growing population along Parramatta Road,” says Johnson.

Meanwhile, Raine & Horne says the construction of the WestConnex motorway will result in a 10% to 15% jump in real estate values in concord.

“This announcement is a great initiative as it will address major traffic congestion in and around the entrance to the M4, and also free up secondary roads between Concord and Haberfield such as Queens Road, Lyons Road and Parramatta Road,” says principal of Raine & Horne Concord Paul Pettenon.

“The WestConnex will result in quiet streets and much faster travelling times to the city, which will help drive up values in and around Concord.

“In a hot market like we currently have, we could easily see prices jump in Concord on the back of this announcement by 10–15% over the next 18 months, with more tempered growth as the completion of the project draws closer,” says Pettenon.

Work on the motorway will start in mid-2015 with a scheduled 2019 finish date.