The 14-storey campus, which forms the first of Parramatta Square’s six stages, is being built by Leighton Properties and scheduled for completion by the end of 2016.
In December, Charter Hall Group confirmed that two of its managed funds have each committed to acquire 50% interests in the campus. The company will then lease the campus to UWS for 15 years with options for an extended lease.
With 26,500 square metres of commercial space, the development is expected to cost Charter Hall Group’s managed funds a total of $220.5 million.
The agreement between Leighton Properties and Charter Hall Group is a major milestone in the development of Parramatta Square as a world-class urban renewal project and a further sign of the growth in value of commercial property in Parramatta.
Another blue-chip Australian company’s investment in our City shows the private sector’s growing commitment to Parramatta and Council’s vision to build Australia’s next great city.
We welcome Charter Hall Group as the owner of the new campus, which will help make Parramatta a true university city based on education, research and technology.
Great universities strengthen great cities, and we’re delighted to be working with UWS to bring high-end learning and jobs to our CBD. This campus will accommodate up to 10,000 students, mostly studying postgraduate courses.
Westmead biomedical precinct, the Rydalmere UWS business Innovation Park and Camellia precinct are all projects that will further grow as centres of excellence and attract high-end university graduates and high value jobs.
The new campus’s prime CBD location, on the corner of Smith and Macquarie Streets, will make UWS a prominent player in the social, economic and civic life of Parramatta and Greater Western Sydney.
Students will benefit from excellent public transport links including the new Western Sydney Light Rail Network, which will have a station next to the campus.
The first stage of the campus construction project involves demolishing a disused building at 189 Macquarie St to make way for the new campus.
Meanwhile, we will soon be announcing the results of our expressions of interest process for stages two, five and six of Parramatta Square.
There has been strong interest from the property market to partner with Council to build the major residential tower and adjacent commercial towers which, together with the UWS campus, will make Parramatta Square the new commercial hub of Western Sydney.
Featuring innovative residential and commercial development and state-of the-art public domain features, the project will deliver an economic return of more than $5 billion and thousands of new jobs.
The start of work on the campus is a significant milestone for our City that will bring huge economic, social and environmental benefits for our region.
