The historic heart of Parramatta North has been announced as the focus of a major urban transformation project.

Parramatta North has been declared a State Significant Site, spanning146 hectares of government-owned land on the banks of the Parramatta River. 

This urban renewal project will facilitate the preservation of the precinct’s heritage sites, while fast-tracking the delivery of thousands of new homes and jobs, providing a major economic boost for Western Sydney.

Heritage locations and assets include Australia’s first farm and first water mill, the Parramatta Female Factory, and the Old Kings School.

WESTERN Sydney is in line for a blue-collar jobs boom, with a 30 per cent increase in industrial development in the region, where almost half of all jobs are on industrial-zoned land.

Department of Planning data shows that in the past year 200ha of employment land has been purchased in the area — which is an increase of 50ha on the year before — while 42 per cent of all Western Sydney jobs are in blue collar industries. In the rest of Sydney, jobs in industrial-zoned land only make up a quarter of all employment.

The majority of all existing industrial employment land is in Western Sydney — 69 per cent and set to grow.

Two local businesses are already bucking the trend of a decline in manufacturing jobs in other states, and boosting blue-collar jobs in the West.

After getting planning approval in December, Devondale’s $60 million Erskine Park milk processing plant is on its way to supplying an estimated 150 million litres of milk across the state per year.

The company is expected to add a total of 45 valuable jobs to the Mt Druitt and St Marys area as a result.

Dincel, a small business creating Lego-like bricks that reduce the building cost of housing by 40 per cent, is in the same employment-land area of Erskine Park and will create an estimated 130 jobs.

The company currently employs 65 people and will soon advertise for 12 more.

Planning minister Pru Goward said Western Sydney was proving a powerhouse for blue-collar jobs, with the most recent data showing that in 30 years the region will grow by 57,000 jobs — 36,000 of which will be industrial jobs.

“Land is ready and waiting for more businesses like Devondale to set up shop and employ skilled manufacturing workers,” Ms Goward said.

“Western Sydney is already an economic powerhouse, but now it’s experiencing a renaissance in industrial land development and jobs.

“While other sectors are winding down industry, Western Sydney is increasing manufacturing and the jobs that come with it.”

The government said last month it would triple the land for jobs in Western Sydney, proposing an extension of the zoning for the Western Sydney Employment Land precinct reaching the Badgerys Creek Creek airport site.

Alicia Wood, Daily Telegraph.

A new seven-storey tower at the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) at Westmead has been officially opened this week, cementing its place as a world leader in unlocking the secrets of childhood disease.

The State of The Region Address was proudly supported by event partners Penrith Panthers Group, NRMA, the University of Western Sydney and media partner, News Corp Australia. 

These event partners were also involved in a Q&A with the Premier and WSBC General Manager on stage as part of the new format.

The Hon Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW photographed with panellists (from left) Penrith Panthers Group CEO, Warren Wilson, NRMA President Kyle Loades, Deputy Vice-Chanellor UWS, Scott Holmes and WSBC General Manager Michael Sugg

WSBC General Manager, Michael Sugg and The Hon Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW

To see more pictures, please visit our Facebook Page and feel free to tag yourself!

NSW Minister for Finance and Services Dominic Perrottet today announced that the former Blood Bank Building at 4 George Street and the Justice Precinct Offices building at 160 Marsden Street Parramatta will be sold.

“The NSW Government is calling for interested parties keen to purchase one or both of the buildings in one line at the Parramatta Justice Precinct,” Minister Perrottet said.

“This is an excellent opportunity for an investor to acquire A-Grade buildings at a premier location.”

“The sale of these two buildings will enable the NSW Government to free up funds and direct them back into NSW government programs which will benefit the whole community.”

“Parramatta is the second largest CBD in Sydney and excellent access to transport networks makes it an ideal centre for employment and business.

“The NSW Government is keen to continue its presence in Sydney’s West with both sites offered for purchase with a lease back to the government for a period of up to 12 years.”

Mr Perrottet said the sales were a key part of the government’s commitment to sell non-core assets and reinvest the proceeds into important infrastructure.

“The funds released by smarter use of our assets allows us to better invest in job creating infrastructure like the WestConnex and road upgrades,” said Mr Perrottet.

“This is another example of how we are delivering for the people of Western Sydney.”

Government Property NSW (GPNSW) is managing the sale of both the buildings.

The Department of Public Prosecutions currently occupies the building at 4 George Street and various Department of Justice agencies are located within the Justice Precinct Offices building at 160 Marden Street.

Located in the western part of the Parramatta CBD the Parramatta, the Justice Precinct has a strong presence in the commercial landscape of the area.

Department of Justice operations in Parramatta will not be affected by the sale as the building is being sold on a lease back arrangement to ensure services can continue to operate as normal.

For more information about the sale of please visit www.property.nsw.gov.au.

Parramatta City Council has announced the imminent market release of the Parramatta Square project involving the major residential tower and adjacent commercial towers, with CBRE appointed as the deal structuring, marketing and selling agent.

Lord Mayor of Parramatta Cr John Chedid said the marketing of the stages followed the major announcement earlier this month of a key tenant for stage one.

"We have already seen University of Western Sydney select stage one as its preferred site for the University's new flagship campus tower in the heart of Parramatta's central business district," Cr Chedid said.

"That decision sends a strong message that Parramatta is open for business and that Parramatta Square is an ideal location for both public and private sector organisations to be based."

Parramatta City Council Chief Executive Officer Greg Dyer said he was delighted to see stages two, five and six being offered to the market.

"The central location of Parramatta Square and Council's visionary approach to provide a public space in the heart of the city, incorporating residential, office, retail and leisure facilities will transform the heart of the CBD," My Dyer said.

"This is a significant milestone for our City and for the development of Parramatta Square and this major investment opportunity will bring economic, social and environmental benefits for our region."

Wayne Redman, as the leader of the CBRE transaction team, said CBRE was delighted to have been awarded the selling agent role through a fiercely contested process.

"We are keen to support the Council in the delivery of this major and city changing Parramatta Square project," Mr Redman said.

"Parramatta City Council's perseverance with the critical project for the future of the City will be rewarded with strong developer and investor interest in the PS2 residential site and linked PS5&6 commercial sites. This major integrated project will capitalise on the rail and bus interchange as well as adjacent retail and community facilities."

CBRE will work closely with the Council in marketing this major project both nationally and internationally to secure the appropriate developer with a focus on design, public domain linkages and attraction of new business and employment to Parramatta. The integration of the major residential-hotel project with the commercial towers will energise and activate the Parramatta CBD.

"The Council has played a critical role in facilitating this major project and will benefit in terms of land value outcomes as well as broader triple-bottom-line outcomes for the City," Mr Redman said.

Mr Redman leads the specialist CBRE team, which has extensive experience in the structuring and delivery of major mixed-use projects throughout Australia and globally.

"Our full resources will be focused on achieving the optimum outcome for the Council and community," he concluded.

ECONOMY CONTINUES TO GROW 

The National Accounts released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday revealed the NSW economy remains the fastest-growing of all the states. 

The figures showed State Final Demand in NSW grew by 3.6 per cent during the last financial year. 

The annual result was driven by a strong result in the March quarter, which was revised up from 2.4 per cent to 2.7 per cent. 

The positive result came despite a 0.4 per cent drop in demand during the June quarter.

WESTCONNEX TAKES ANOTHER STEP 

The Australian and NSW Governments are getting on with delivering the WestConnex motorway, calling for expressions of interest to build the M5 - King Georges Road Interchange upgrade. 

The M5 - King Georges Road Interchange Upgrade will create more than 100 new jobs during construction and increase capacity on the eastbound on-ramp and westbound off-ramp between King Georges Road and the M5 East. 

We are getting on with building both WestConnex Stages One and Two at the same time to ensure we create thousands of new jobs, grow the economy more quickly and bust congestion in our cities which is costing the economy billions. 

Also this week, the new design improvements for the 10 kilometre Bringelly Road upgrade have been released for community feedback – both governments have committed $509 million to expand the road from a two-lane to a minimum four-lane divided road with a central median strip.

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Today, cloud services play an important part for businesses of all sizes.

Using the right cloud services enhances business processes, provides more effective ways to liaise with customers and frees up important time for management and staff.

More and more companies offer cloud based solutions for their customers, and a steady stream of new services are entering the market.

The question is no longer if you need to tap in to the cloud, but which products you need to use to benefit your business.

The issue is – do businesses today have the time, understanding and skills to navigate through the myriad of services and find the most effective solution for their business?

With the number of cloud services out there, finding the right solutions yourself could be time consuming, to say the least.  However, if you don’t invest the time now, you risk generating more work for yourself in the long run, creating a gap between you and your competitors. 

So how can you act now to ensure you find the right solution for your business?

We encourage you to attend our 2014 Cloud Services seminar to hear a number of solutions for your business. This half day seminar will not only explain the wonders and pitfalls of the cloud; it will also take you through a number of cloud services that can benefit your business, from accounting and IT, to insurance and HR.

What you will find out and how you will benefit. 

• Find out about the wonders (and pitfalls) of the cloud.
• Hear leading providers in Cloud Computing share information on their latest services.
• Take advantage of multiple offers and networking opportunities. 
• Walk away with all the information you need to make informed decisions about cloud providers and services. 

Time: 8.00am-2.00pm (including breakfast, morning tea and lunch)
Venue: ParkRoyal Parramatta 
Host: Moore Stephens and Western Sydney Business Connection 
Presenters: BizCover, Cerebiz, Efficiency Leaders, Moore Stephens, MYOB, Nexon, Reckon, Saasu, Workforce Guardian, Xero 

This is an event not to be missed! Register today to secure your seat. 

Register here.

We look forward to seeing you there.