FEATURE 11 “A faster Metro journey will also create opportunities for new housing and will bring jobs closer to where people live in Western Sydney. “This housing uplift along the corridor would give communities in the West new access to fast train services and offer a genuine alternative to a long commute into the east of the city.” However, with more people, there’ll also be a need for more things for them to do: think entertainment, arts and eating out. Enter the new $645 million Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) Powerhouse Museum opening in 2023, set to be the largest museum in the state and the first time one of NSW’s five major cultural institutions will be entirely located in Western Sydney. President of the MAAS Trust, Professor Barney Glover said this unprecedented investment means people can experience even more of the globally-renowned collection of Australia’s first and only applied arts and science museum. The new Powerhouse Museum will provide visitors with knowledge and a hands-on experience of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) via interactive displays. Offering 18,000 square metres of space, it will feature contemporary exhibition halls to host international travelling displays, cafés and bars, shopping and retail, casual study nooks, and event and function spaces. It will also be home to NSW’s first major planetarium, larger than any in Australia at over 30 metres wide. The planetarium will feature a full dome fitted out with ultra-high-resolution 3D video, complemented by multi-channel immersive audio, making it the most advanced visualisation environment in the country. However, it’s not just the stars that will be shining in the sky. The $2.7 billion Parramatta Square redevelopment will change the city’s skyline and revitalise Parramatta with 290,000 square metres of premium grade office space, a multi-level retail podium, and civic facilities that reflect the latest global thinking in design, productivity and public facilities. Adjacent to the Parramatta train station, the redevelopment will accommodate about 4000 government employees from the Department of Planning and Environment, Department of Finance, Services and Innovation and Department of Industry, in the largest ever government agency leasing commitment. Just 12 months since the development first broke ground it’s already taking shape, and once complete in 2021 will be home to a world class food emporium across its lower levels, with an underground pedestrian link to the nearby Westfield shopping centre. For sports fans, the new Western Sydney Stadium will provide undercover seating for 30,000 people and revolutionise the spectator’s experience, featuring green space, BBQ decks and kids’ playgrounds. Visitors will even be able to take their own food. Due to open in 2019, the stadium will cater for a range of sporting and community uses within the precinct. It will also provide high-quality food and beverage facilities, five levels of corporate and function space, big screens, Wi-Fi and broadcast facilities, and up to 900 jobs once operational. With so much going on, it’s easy to wonder just how everyone will access the city, which is where two major transport projects will help. Leading into the city by road, the Parramatta Road Corridor Urban Transformation Strategy sets out the vision and land use and transport principles to accommodate up to 27,000 new homes and 50,000 new jobs in a range of industries across the corridor over the next 30 years. Spanning 20 kilometres from Camperdown in the east to Granville in the west, the Strategy recognises the slow road travel, unappealing streetscapes and disconnected planning that has eroded the Parramatta Road corridor as a place to live, shop or do business.