Parramatta. Penthouse sold for $805,000

Crown Group International has sold a 173-square-metre penthouse with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and two car spaces, for $805,000, in the $125 million, twin-tower Gallery mixed-use complex, in Cowper Street in the southern section of the Parramatta CBD. The penthouse is one of 12 in the 246-apartment building, which was completed last year. Crown bought a vacant site on the corner of Hunter, Marsden and Macquarie streets, last year,for about $15 million, from the Melbourne-based Becton Property Group. The company proposes to build a $220 million residential and mixed-use development on the site, in the western section of the CBD. A current DA approval exists for a mixed-use building of some 20 storeys

Parramatta. Government 'must get to work'

Following the removal of the M4 toll, the State Government must now get to work on improving public transport infrastructure in Western Sydney, said Parramatta City Council Lord Mayor, Cr Paul Garrard. “Improving the dismal state of public transport, particularly for commuters to both Parramatta and Sydney CBD, has to be a priority for the State Government, even more so now that traffic flows and congestion along the M4 is expected to increase,” he said.

Penrith. Subcontractors owed money

Building subcontractors in the Penrith region are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars, over the collapse of a building contract, at McCarthy Catholic College, in Emu Plains, according to a report in the Penrith City Star The Parramatta Catholic diocese had contracted Austruc Constructions, at Pyrmont, to complete renovations but the company went into voluntary administration in January. Parramatta Catholic Education's financial director, Bernard Ryall, said the diocese felt for subcontractors but had not unconditionally guaranteed payments.

Parramatta. Film festival 'on a roll'

The 2009 Arab Film Festival, at Riverside Theatres, in July, the sixth to be held, and the first tour of four interstate capitals, have described as a success by festival co-ordinator, Mouna Zaylah, at the Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE) office in Parramatta. Audience figures for the festival were up by 20 per cent, with approximately 40 per cent from non-Arabic-speaking backgrounds. One-third of the patrons came from as far afield as Inner Sydney, Eastern Suburbs and the North Shore, with interstate visitors from Brisbane. The tour to Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide took place in November. Ms Zaylah was pleased with the festival’s first interstate tour. A national marketing campaign would promote the back-to-back festival and tour, in July. “We have a strong organisation and committee whose aim is to make the event more and more sustainable. We are on a roll,” she said

Region. Cross regional links necessary

Regional lobby group, the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC), has welcomed the independent assessment of Sydney’s transport plans, the Christie Report, that emphasises investment in public transport over roads and that cross-regional transport must be the priority. “Less than 30 per cent of Western Sydney residents travel to the CBD to work. Linking population centres in Western Sydney, rather than building more and more radial links into the CBD, is necessary to reduce travel times and promote the use of public transport,” said WSROC president, Clr Alison McLaren.