After protracted negotiations between NSW planning authorities and the developers over environmental and flooding risk concerns, Coronation Property’s Moore Point urban precinct vision has moved a step closer to seeing the light of day, with the proposal now receiving the green signal for public exhibition.

Formerly an industrial site on the banks of the Georges River in Liverpool in Sydney’s southwest, the 32-hectare property jointly owned by Coronation Property and Leamac Property Group is being reimagined to deliver one of the largest private urban regeneration projects in Australia, described by former premier Dominic Perrottet as ‘‘the Barangaroo of the west’’.

The proposed $9-billion mixed-use masterplanned precinct envisages a ‘3-minute river city’ offering 11,000 new homes including 2,500 build-to-rent units and 400 affordable housing apartments, a new public school for 1,000 students, bridge crossings to the Liverpool CBD across the river, an 8km riverwalk, 9 hectares of landscaped open space, and roads and pedestrian links. Incorporating significant new commercial and retail spaces, the precinct is also expected to generate more than 23,000 jobs and $28 billion in economic activity, with the overall city-shaping transformation helping to drive the future of Liverpool.

Moore Point unifies both sides of the river to develop a well-connected urban precinct, building on the Liverpool Council’s vision to create a great river city, and reshaping Liverpool’s eastern bank into a globally renowned destination over the next 40 years.

Moore Point, according to the developers, will be a unique example of sustainable waterfront urbanisation, where residents can walk to their local school, shops, restaurants and cafés, engage with small businesses, and work locally or across the river in the Liverpool CBD.

Coronation Property had first lodged plans for the development in 2015. In 2017, Coronation Property and Leamac Property Group decided to combine their 32 hectares of land into a single planning proposal, and since then, have been working closely with local and state authorities and stakeholder groups to “develop and implement a vision for Moore Point that sets a benchmark for the development of such precincts in Australia”.

Subsequently, a consolidated planning proposal was lodged in 2020 to rezone the land from industrial to mixed-use and recreation. In April 2023, the planning proposal for Moore Point received a Gateway Determination from the NSW Department of Planning. However, over the years, the proposed development has been caught in bureaucratic red tape over concerns about flooding and contamination.

Matters escalated earlier this year when Coronation Property threatened to walk away from the project, after the NSW Planning Department wanted them to commission flood studies, which would have further delayed the development.

Stalled for close to a decade, the precinct proposal has finally moved ahead now with most issues having been resolved, allowing the plans to be put up for public exhibition next month.

“We are delighted that after so much hard work on the project, including years of extensive consultation with our key stakeholders and the community, we have moved to the next step of the planning process,” Coronation Property managing director Joe Nahas said.

“We are proud that Moore Point will be the jewel in the crown for southwestern Sydney and is ready to provide 11,000 quality, new homes in an area where the dire shortage of housing is failing to keep up with the growing needs of the community.

“With Liverpool Hospital undergoing a major redevelopment, it means that 6,000 current and future essential health and allied care staff will be struggling to find a place to live. That’s why Coronation has committed to working with Evolve, to offer a tangible solution to the crisis in supply, providing hundreds of frontline workers with the opportunity to secure a home in Moore Point, just a couple minutes’ walk from their workplace.”

With building approvals in NSW at record low levels, Nahas also called upon the government to work with its departments and industry stakeholders, and act decisively to get rid of the obstacles that have stalled several major projects.

Pending approval of the rezoning proposal and development plans, work on Moore Point is expected to begin in Q4 2025 with the first apartments to be delivered in late 2027.

Photo credit: SJB

Branko Miletic

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