First look: One Collection advances plans for Castle Hill apartments

In a move that aligns with NSW's accelerated planning incentives for affordable housing, developer One Collection has revised its Hills District apartment plans, and taken it to the NSW Government, to secure approval.

The developer, which is currently delivering Horizon Hurstville, is seeking to add 80 more apartments to its Castle Hill development near Castle Towers. They already have approval for 280 apartments across eight six-storey buildings.

Now on the desks of the NSW Department of Planning is 360 apartments, 48 of which will be dedicated to affordable housing. Affordable housing is to be “fully integrated within the building and visually indistinguishable,” according to the planning submission.

The 15,697 sqm block, an amalgamation of 16 sites, spans across Dawes Avenue, Hughes Avenue, and Camdan Crescent, sits 550m from Hills Showground Metro Station. 

"The existing context is quickly changing from free-standing homes into residential flat buildings in line with the Hills Showground Precinct planning framework," Place Studio noted.

They said the design was informed by the site's unique condition of having three street frontages and was developed to to respond sensitively to iots surrounding context.

"The design adopted a conventional perpendicular alignment to the primary street frontage. The massing of the development was carefully modulated to align with the evolving character of the neighbourhood. The design ensured that the scale was not excessive or out of context, but instead contributed to a cohesive urban form consistent with emerging developments in the area."

The apartment mix will be 46 one-beds, 168 two-bed apartments, and 146 three-bedroom units, with 631 parking spaces proposed.

Along the street frontages, the building heights are four storeys with a 7.5 metre setback, and eight storeys with an 11.5 metre setback. It should cost about $150 million to build.

One Collection works hand-in-hand with the respected development and construction firm Masscon, which has built a reputation for leveraging its expertise in the built environment to take on developments others can't. That's what they're achieving at Horizon Hurstville, having taken over the project to deliver it.