Public comment closing soon for NSW

A state significant development application (SSDA) seeking approval for a $6.6 million mixed-use rental housing precinct in Sydney's inner west is currently on exhibition, with opportunity for public comment closing soon. The project's developers, Rent to Live Co. (RTL Co.), claim that if approved, the project will be the city's largest build-to-rent (BTR) development to date.

Known as The Timberyards, the scheme involves the transformation of former industrial land in Marrickville into a regenerated urban neighbourhood. Aiming to address the current housing shortage crisis in Sydney, the proposal comprises BTR, co-living and affordable housing with retail and 10,200 square metres of public open space.

The project's design has been developed by a collaborative team including Aileen Sage on public domain and public art strategy; Architecture AND, Tribe Studio and Turner leading architectural design; Matthew Pullinger Architect as urban designer; Yerrabingin on Connecting with Country; and Arcadia developing the project's landscape architecture.

According to Matthew Pullinger, author of the SSDA's executive design statement, "The project vision anticipates a new urban community that is highly publicly accessible, extending the local network of streets and spaces into and through the site."

The project's 22,771-square-metre site spans multiple lots bound by Victoria Road, Sydenham Road, Farr Street and Mitchell Street. Across the amalgamated lots, seven new buildings ranging eight to 13 storeys in height are intended to accommodate 1700 residents in affordable accommodation. The proposed mix, which totals 1188 new dwellings, includes 484 BTR apartments; 115 affordable rental apartments; 589 co-living dwellings and 599 apartments that meet the silver standard of Livable Housing Australia's design guidelines.

While united by a common ethos, each of the proposed buildings has been designed with a unique architectural language that responds to their specific brief and siting. The three buildings by Turner, two by Architecture AND and two by Tribe Studio also employ distinct primary materials, with the aim to create varied characters. At street level, an overarching focus on brickwork of various colours and patterns is intended to relate the buildings back to the site's fine grain residential and industrial context.

Woven between the proposed buildings, the site's public domain is articulated by a series of communal lawns and pocket parks that draw upon the site's original swampland and water ecology. A central walkway beneath the retained structural frame of the existing warehouse is articulated on entry by a large, mirrored gateway within the project's retail frontage on Victoria Road.

According to Pullinger, "Key to the project vision is the ongoing management of the site in single ownership to carefully curate a series of supporting facilities and amenities for both residents and the wider public." The Timberyards is the first project to be owned, managed and developed by RTL Co. - a spin-off to development company Scape, whose folio includes 38 residential "for-rent" buildings across Australia's east and south coasts. RTL Co. intend to manage the site in perpetuity.

The state significant development application is open for public comment online until the closure of the exhibition period on 24 March.