Construction of Sydney's Crown Eastlakes a $500-million luxury retail and residential development designed by Rice Daubney, will begin within 12 months, says the project’s developer Crown Group.

Planning approval has now been received for the massive development which will see the existing Eastlakes Shopping Centre bulldozed and replaced with eight new buildings containing retail shopping, residential apartments and a dining plaza.

The buildings will be scattered on the 24,100sqm site which is divided across by Evans Avenue and bound by Gardeners Road to the north and Eastlakes Reserve to the East.

Building 1 through to Building 8 will house a combined 362 residential apartments, 82 serviced apartment, 14,000sq m of shops and two levels of basement car parking providing a total of 1,037 car parking spaces.

Above: Evans Avenue south street front.
Below: Park Front render with market and retail spaces.

The design drawings show that the site will focus on integrating Eastlakes Reserve and the public through pedestrian linkages between streets, parking facilities, public landscaped areas by Taylor Brammer landscape architects and a reserve-side market square.   

Of the eight buildings, each with six storeys, Building 1 and 1A are the tallest and will be situated at the northern end of the site, fronting Evans Avenue. 

Building 2 to Building 8 will be situated on the southern divide of the site and house the majority of the public domain space including a market square at Building 2 and the parking.

Above: Park Edge and Evans Avenue.
Below: Gardeners Road frontage.

Rice Daubney said the majority of the buildings will feature bookended blade wall facades to accentuate entry points to the buildings and minimise the bulk and scale of the development.

The blades will be clad with sections of glazed tiles, render, perforated metal screens and timber batten screens. 

Building 2, which fronts the Eastlakes Reserve is the self-professed “iconic building” of the development for Rice Daubney and will form the marker for the area.

“Building 2 is raised 8m above the ground and will be a six storey residential building with a very light feel to it,” reads Rice Daubney’s SEPP65 Statement.

“The building is mostly glass and perforated metal screens. The building itself also has a unique shape which will take advantage of the city and golf course views.”

The overall design was already awarded the 2013 NSW Best Concept Design by the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) but was met with some protest from the public and the Botany Bay Council Mayor Ben Keneally in the same year.

Images: Supplied