1400 apartments: latest details revealed for gigantic Marketown overhaul

A Newcastle West commercial hub is slated for a dramatic transformation under a $1 billion plan that would deliver up to 1400 new apartments and reshape the western skyline of the CBD.

Region Group, the owner of Marketown West Shopping Centre on Parry Street, has lodged a formal scoping report with the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI),

It is seeking approval to redevelop the site under a fast-track process designed to accelerate large-scale housing projects across NSW.

The proposal, prepared by planning consultancy Urbis, would demolish the existing single-storey shopping centre that has traded since 1978.

A revitalised retail precinct topped with six residential towers reaching as high as 29 storeys, approximately 90 metres above street level, would be built in its place if approved.

The 24,478-square-metre site stands at what planners describe as the "western gateway" to the Newcastle city centre, an area that has long been identified as having unrealised development potential but has lagged behind the broader renewal of the CBD.

Four significant developments ranging between 45 metres and 90 metres tall have already been approved in the immediate vicinity north of the site.

Region Group argues that the current planning controls limiting Marketown West to a height of just 35 metres and a floor space ratio of 4:1 are out of step with the site's strategic location and the broader transformation under way around it.

The company wants to increase the height limit to approximately 90 metres and raise the floor space ratio to 6.25:1.

The concept proposal, designed by architecture and urban design firm Turner, envisages a retail podium with ground-floor and first-floor tenancies including food and beverage outlets.

A pedestrian bridge would connect Marketown West to the existing Marketown East centre across Steel Street, with six residential towers providing approximately 1400 apartments.

A public plaza is proposed facing King Street, and the development would include around 2350 car spaces.

Affordable housing contributions are proposed.

The development is to be built in three stages over seven to ten years.

The first stage, which is seeking detailed approval, involves two residential towers comprising around 400 apartments with a total gross floor area of approximately 53,000 square metres.

Region Group notes it has been in discussions with City of Newcastle officers for more than two years, and the proposal has already received preliminary feedback from state government agencies.

The City of Newcastle's Urban Design Review Panel has given in-principle support to increasing permissible heights on the site, recommending the tallest elements be positioned toward the northwestern corner.

Council officers have also flagged concerns around overshadowing, particularly of nearby Homes NSW residences that receive afternoon sunlight.

Transport for NSW has called for a detailed traffic and parking assessment with any future application, while Subsidence Advisory NSW has noted the site sits within a mine subsidence district and will require detailed geotechnical investigation.

The site is identified as flood-prone land, though the report notes this can be addressed at the development application stage.

The proponents argue the project aligns squarely with NSW and local government housing policy at a time of acute pressure on housing supply.

Community engagement is expected to include public information sessions, neighbour notification letters, stakeholder briefings and an online information hub.

The outcomes of that process will be documented in an engagement outcomes report forming part of the formal environmental impact statement.