位于悉尼西区的 Parramatta 将成为澳洲未来5年的发展热点地区， 80亿元的大规模建设计划将显著改变当地天际线的面貌。城市规划师警示身为西悉尼地区重镇的 Parramatta 有可能面临着交通恶化的状况，除非现在就对当地连接其他西区市镇的交通网络进行妥善规划，包括在Badgerys Creek建悉尼的第二机场等。
Parramatta市议会规划人员利用最新的发展规划数据，一展当地未来的市貌。在10年内，Parramatta的CBD预计将高楼林立，其中包括了澳洲最高的住宅楼、90层高的“渴望之塔”。
1位前新州政府建筑师表示，Parramatta 目前设计规划的大型工程项目就有33个，使得该市未来几年将超越阿得雷德，成为澳洲的第5大CBD。
如果所有的规划项目都得以实施的话，Parramatta 的心脏地带将增加总面积达83.8万平方米的商务写字楼，这相当于140个足球场的大小。
Parramatta市长彻迪德鼓励建筑师“创新”，以构建一座活力而热闹的城市的天际线。他希望见到创新而具有标志性的设计，哪怕是在25年后回顾现在，也会令人感到自豪。
Parramatta的建设潮已经开始了。
彻迪德透露市议会本财年至今已经接到了价值16亿元的发展申请，是去年的一倍有余。市议会规划师表示，预计在未来5年当地都将保持这样的发展势头，相当于将有80亿元的建设项目，而且大多数都位于 Parramatta 的CBD。
BIS Shrapnel的基建高级经理哈特指出，未来5年澳洲发展潜力最大的地区就在Parramatta，而且住宅公寓的建设潮将推动当地的发展。据悉，Parramatta 7个已经获批和正在审批的高端住宅项目中，包括了逾3700套公寓及联排别墅。
Parramatta市议会本财年接到的发展申请项目中，Parramatta Square已经接近完工，标志性建筑“渴望之塔”就在该项目内，这一摩天大楼建成后将有一家时尚的城市酒店，以及多达700套公寓。
此外，耗资2.5亿元、41层的“河畔之塔”的建筑图也已经公布，该工程的施工内容还包括对Parramatta River的河畔进行重大升级。而毗邻的一个可容纳1000人的会展中心，则将成为Parramatta最大规模的功能性场所。
澳洲城市专案小组的行政总裁约翰逊曾任新州政府的首次建筑师达10年之久，他指出如果Parramatta能接纳更多的居民及上班族，还将能进一步推动同在西区的Penrith以及Liverpool的发展。
Parramatta市议会相信，未来25年Parramatta的城市地区需要创造10万个就业机构会，以确保当地居民上班更容易。据悉，目前有200万悉尼人住在西区，预计在20年内还将有百万人西迁。
An $8 billion boom as Parramatta reaches for the sky: high-rises to transform the Wests capital
EXCLUSIVE JOHN LEHMANN EDITOR-AT-LARGE
《THE DAILYTELEGRAPH》
PARRAMATTA will be Australia’s boomtown over the next five years with a projected $8 billion building explosion set to dramatically reshape the city’s skyline.
But urban planners warn the capital of Western Sydney will face worsening traffic chaos unless transport links to other western regions, including the potential airport at Badgerys Creek, are properly planned now.
Parramatta City Council planners have given The Daily Telegraph a glimpse of the city’s skyline of tomorrow, using updated development data. Within a decade, Parramatta’s CBD is expected to boast adramatic skyline of towers, including Australia’s tallest residential building,the 90-storey Aspire tower.
With already 33 major projects on the drawing board, the gateway to the West could overtake Adelaide in coming years to become the nation’s fifth -biggest CBD, a former state government architect said.
An extra 838,000sq m of commercial offic espace — the equivalent of 140 football grounds — would be developed in Parramatta’s heart if all the planned projects get off the ground.
Parramatta Mayor John Chedid said he is encouraging architects to “be creative” and to build a skyline that is worthy of a vibrant and bustling capital city.
“We want to see creative, iconic designs — a legacy we can look back on in 25 years’ time and be proud,’’ he said.
The building boom is already taking off,with Mr Chedid revealing the council has received development applications worth $1.6 billion this financial year — more than double last year.
Council planners said they expected asimilar level of activity for up to five years, equating to a possible $8 billion of construction, mainly in the CBD.
BIS Shrapnel senior manager of infrastructure Adrian Hart said Parramatta had “the greatest growth potential of anywhere in Australia over the next five years’’.
He said the boom in residential apartment buildings would drive growth in Parramatta.
More than 3700 apartments and townhouses in seven upmarket projects have already been approved or are under consideration.
Work is under way on the luxury $309 million “V by Crown” tower, where more than $150 million worth of apartment sales have been racked up since the project was launched in Singapore two years ago.
The first two projects of the ambitious $1.6 billion, 3ha Parramatta Square project are close to be finalised —including the iconic Aspire tower, which will contain a swish inner-city hoteland up to 700 apartments.
Architectural drawings have also been released for the $250 million, 41-storey Riverside Tower, which will include a major upgrade of the Parramatta River foreshore.
An adjoining 1000-person conference centre will become Parramatta’s largest function space.
The development plans make a mockery of Labor MP for Chifley Ed Husic’s claims last week that the idea of Parramatta becoming Sydney’s second CBD should be shelved.
Urban Taskforce Australia chief executive Chris Johnson, who was the state’s most senior architect for 10 years, said if Parramatta was “humming with people and workers”, it would drive further development in Penrith and Liverpool.
“We need a vibrant cosmopolitan CBD with more people living in thecentre,’’ he said.
Parramatta council believes an extra 100,000 jobs need to be created in its city area over the next 25 years to ensure residents can work within easy access to their homes.
Already two million Sydneysiders call the golden west home, with another million expected to move in over the next 20 years.
Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Ken Morrison said infrastructure investment in the West was needed to handle the growth.
“We encourage the city council and state government to do that thinking. You get traffic snarls in Parramatta at the moment. That will onlyget worse as more activity moves there,’’ he said.
Mr Che did said the council hoped the government would sign off soon on a $20 million feasibility study into the $1.9 billion light rail project that would link Parramatta with Macquarie Park and Castle Hill. The council also needs funds to build a $36 million ring-road around the Parramatta CBD and Westmead over the next 10 years to avoid traffic chaos.
