Erskineville development Erko gets council green light

Leighton Properties and partner LaSalle Investment Management gained approval on Thursday, October 11, for the major Erskineville development Erko. 

The development application was put forward to the City of Sydney in hope of transforming the north-western corner of a 17-hectare Ashmore industrial estate precinct into a residential community. 

Erko is the first project in the Ashmore precinct to be approved under the state government’s new planning framework. 

The 1.61-hectare site will include 302 apartments and 16 terrace houses as well as new roads, cycle paths and footpaths to improve accessibility and allows links to nearby Erskineville village and the railway station. 

The 302 apartments range from studios to three-bedroom units and will be scattered between four apartment buildings with landscaped setbacks. The ecologically sound buildings range from three to eight storeys. 

Leighton Properties held a design competition won by SJB Architects, but through consultations with the local community ensured the design proposal was in keeping with the detailed character of Erskineville. 

“We are please to have the opportunity to contribute to the renewal of the Ashmore industrial precinct into a vibrant residential community within the cosmopolitan cultural neighbourhoods of Newtown and Erskineville,” says managing director of Leighton Properties Mark Gray. 

“We have already received interest from a large number of owner-occupiers and investors who recognise the unique opportunity Erko presents,” says Gray. 

The first stage of the development will comprise of 263 apartments in three buildings that encircle a landscaped central community park. 

Leighton Properties is one of Australia’s leading property development companies, with past projects including Mosaic in Fortitude Valley Brisbane, WRAP in Southbank Melbourne and Star City Casino in Sydney.