Designer apartments built above a 1920s church poised to hit Parramatta market

8 Phillip Street from developer Coronation Property is offering history at the bottom and luxury at the top in Parramatta.

The final release of apartments at the mixed-use project, about 10 minutes’ walk from Parramatta train station, is due next month.

Architect Woods Bagot’s plan repurposes a 1920s Romanesque-style church into a buzzy dining precinct.

The design of the church is reflected in the architecture of a new 55-storey tower, which will feature Sydney’s highest rooftop bar, Studio 54. It’s one of several new high-rise towers poised to change Parramatta’s skyline over the next five years.

Terminally hip hotel operator QT will bring its eclectic five-star style to the lower levels with about 250 hotel rooms and suites. A selection of penthouses will also be available.

There will be an al fresco pool for residents on the 18th floor, a resort-style day spa, a grand ballroom and various event spaces.

Woods Bagot director Domenic​ Alvaro says the design of the building is centred around several “conversations”. At the street level, he says, the conversation between old and new begins with the design of the building reflecting elements of the historic church.

“We wanted to embrace the context of the surroundings in the church and adjacent hall, and to preserve a narrative of a building that has a conversation with the heritage architecture,” Alvaro says.

As they move inside, residents and visitors will be invited into a range of living, dining and leisure experiences.

“You’ve got the serenity that comes with great residential design to enhance living experiences, and at the same time a combination of day and night experiences in a vertical precinct – for me that’s really exciting.”

Apartment interiors incorporate high-quality joinery, track lighting and windbreak balconies, which will provide residents with customisable outdoor living spaces.

Durie Design, headed by green-thumb superstar Jamie Durie, has been appointed to deliver the landscape elements, among them a five-storey-high “trapeze garden” – a garden suspended by brass and stainless steel cables.

Coronation Property reports that more than 70 per cent of buyers to date have been owner-occupiers.

Director of sales Jason Soulos says buyers are recognising Parramatta’s strong growth. A report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers last year predicted a doubling of economic growth in Parramatta over the next five years. The same report estimated Parramatta would welcome an additional 41,000 residents by 2021, more than double the national population growth rate.

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