For decades, it was the jingle synonymous with the southern end of Church Street: “Come on out to Parramatta, and walk down auto alley”. With multiple car dealerships lining the busy road, it was the go-to spot for generations who wanted to purchase a vehicle.
But a new report envisions a very different future for the street: 15,100 new dwellings in buildings up to 15 storeys along a “grand, tree-lined boulevard with cycleways and wider pedestrian paths”.
Expanding Parramatta, a report which will be unveiled at Tuesday’s Housing Now! conference by Business Western Sydney, details four areas surrounding the Parramatta CBD, including auto alley, that could be transformed into several neighbourhoods to deliver up to 60,000 new homes.
The areas recommended for more housing are all within two kilometres of Parramatta CBD. They include Parramatta north, along Church Street, but don’t include the site slated for rezoning by the state government. It has 356 dwellings, but the report says it has the potential to reach up to 13,100.
From Parramatta River to James Ruse Drive, Riverside East has been envisioned as a “vibrant precinct” that could provide 32,000 homes, while the Harris Park and Rosehill precinct could have 16,700 dwellings.
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“I think in the middle of a housing crisis, now that we’ve got great public transport in Parramatta, light rail, it just seems like we’ve missed something,” David Borger, executive director of Business Western Sydney, said. “There’s an opportunity to live really close to a city centre with lots of good jobs and amenities.”
From ‘arse end’ to beautiful boulevard
Borger believes auto alley is already in the midst of change, with high-rise homes and hotels under construction, but that more can be done.
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