Media Release: Clayton Utz advises Liverpool City Council on $400 million urban regeneration project

Sydney, 11 October 2019: Clayton Utz is advising Liverpool City Council on a $400 million+ project for the regeneration of a site into a mixed-use development that will anchor and activate the southern end of Liverpool CBD, providing new public spaces, community facilities and job opportunities.

To be known as Liverpool Civic Place, the two-stage development at 52 Scott Street will see the construction of new Council offices, Council Chambers and childcare facilities, a new state-of-the-art city library, a 24-level tower to accommodate a combination of commercial, retail and education space, and a hotel or student accommodation building and parking.

The project will be developed by Built, which first entered into an agreement with Council for this project in 2016. The recent variations to the project have seen it become Council's biggest ever investment and Built's largest development to date.

A Clayton Utz team led by Real Estate national practice group leader Nikki Robinson and special counsel Jennifer Harris have advised the Council on the project since 2016.

Nikki said the project highlighted the trend towards regenerating urban sites in favour of building greenfield projects. "We are seeing a big focus by Councils on urban renewal and regeneration projects in areas where sites require development to meet the future needs of the population."

Liverpool is set to be the third CBD of a Greater Sydney in which half the population will live west of Parramatta by 2036.

Liverpool City Council, along with other local authorities in Western Sydney, are leading the way in seeking out the activation of land through sustainable redevelopment of land that fosters community participation in the city centre and meets the educational and residential requirements of current and future generations.

Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller said Council was delighted that a legal firm of Clayton Utz’s calibre was involved in Liverpool Civic Place. "Clayton Utz is a leading Australian law firm and we are glad to have the confidence of their advice," Mayor Waller said. "This project is a key element in the activation of the southern end of Liverpool‘s CBD and we have one chance to get it right."

The development of Liverpool Civic Place follows earlier large-scale urban regeneration projects on which Clayton Utz has advised, including:

• a $15 billion project to build the new Barangaroo precinct in Sydney's CBD which includes world-class sustainability benchmarks across retail, residential and commercial buildings;
• the $5 billion Sydney Science Park in Western Sydney to create an acclaimed research and development centre and a fully integrated community for lifestyle and liveability; and
• aspects of the $2.7 billion Parramatta Square in Parramatta.