North Ryde. $1.7b expansion over 40 years

The NSW Government has approved a development at Macquarie University in which more than 80 per cent of construction on the 126-hectare site will be devoted to commercial space. Under the plan, 400,000 square metres of commercial building space will be added, far outweighing the 61,000 square metres of extra academic space. The plan also provides for an increase in on-campus accommodation. Capacity will more than triple from 1550 students to 5000 in the $1.7 billion expansion to take place over the next 40 years. Earlier this year the Government approved construction of the $130 million Cochlear Limited global headquarters, on the site, which is expected to be complete mid-2010. The $200 million Macquarie University Hospital is under construction, as well as a $100 million library.