DKO Architecture has revealed a $2 billion masterplan for Leppington Town Centre in New South Wales, setting aside 48 per cent of the site for public parks, landscaping, civic spaces and critical infrastructure, in what the studio describes as a deliberate challenge to conventional approaches to urban density.

The mixed-use precinct, to be built on rural paddocks close to transport hubs in Sydney’s south-west growth corridor, will deliver eight residential towers, 1,500 apartments, more than 30,000 square metres of commercial and retail space, and a four-star hotel and conference centre. The housing mix encompasses affordable housing alongside build-to-rent (BTR) and build-to-sell apartments, addressing housing supply while integrating a range of tenures within the same precinct.

For DKO Sydney Director Nick Byrne, the scale of the public realm commitment reflects a deliberate inversion of the typical development model, where open space tends to be what remains after built form is resolved.

“Australia’s growth corridors need more housing, but they also need places where people genuinely want to live,” Byrne says. “Leppington is just this place, as it is a contemporary town centre that combines residential living, employment opportunities, retail activity, hospitality and an unprecedented amount of public gathering space.”

The masterplan positions Leppington Town Centre as a connected civic precinct rather than a standalone residential project. Civic infrastructure, the studio argues, should sit at the heart of a town centre, not on its periphery. The precinct is designed to function as a new generation civic amenity, where public life, residential living, retail activity and commercial opportunity exist together within a transport-connected neighbourhood.

Leppington Town Centre plaza view by DKO Architecture | Credit: supplied

Byrne is direct about the design challenge the project responds to. “Density done well improves quality of life. It creates walkability, convenience, social connection and access to amenity. The challenge is not how many homes we can deliver, but how we create communities around them.”

The approach to retail within the masterplan reflects a position DKO has held across a number of mixed-use projects: that ground-level retail and hospitality should be treated as urban infrastructure rather than commercial floor space appended to a residential podium. Throughout the Leppington precinct, ground-floor retail, food and beverage and local services have been integrated at street level, with the intention of activating laneways, supporting local businesses and creating consistent opportunities for incidental social interaction.

DKO Retail and Mixed-Use Director Frank Alvarez describes that thinking. “Retail plays a critical role in community life, as retail provides everyday services people rely on, but it also creates activity, connection and identity,” he says. “Great town centres are built around those everyday experiences.”

Leppington Town Centre retail laneway by DKO Architecture | Credit: supplied

Byrne frames the Leppington precinct as a test of what Australia’s next generation of town centres could become. “The most successful centres are not defined by residential density alone. They bring together housing, employment, retail, hospitality and public space to create places that support everyday life.”

The precinct is positioned as a landmark gateway project adjacent to existing transport infrastructure, which DKO sees as fundamental to its long-term viability. Locating significant density alongside rail connectivity rather than in isolation from it is central to the masterplan logic, with the mix of uses designed to support activity across different times of day and different user groups.

The Leppington project is expected to serve as a benchmark for future mixed-use development across Australia’s growth corridors, with the studio arguing that investment in public realm delivers compounding social, environmental and economic value over time.

DKO is based in Surry Hills, Sydney, with offices in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland, Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta.

Render: Leppington Town Centre masterplan / DKO Architecture / supplied

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