How Sydney Olympic Park became a thriving lifestyle precinct

Some three decades ago, what we know now as the thriving Sydney Olympic Park precinct, was merely an industrial zone in an idyllic spot on Sydney Harbour.

The tender for the 2000 Summer Olympics Games was won by the NSW Government back in 1993, and around $5 billion worth of stadiums and infrastructure created a world-class sporting precinct.

Naturally, following The Games, apartment developers started to gravitate toward the Homebush precinct. The likes of Mirvac and Meriton have and/or are developing buildings in the area, which is now not only a place for visitors to come and see some of the country's largest sporting and music events, but a place for people to call home.

It was the continued and potential further growth in Sydney Olympic Park (SOP) which attracted developer Australia YMCI (AYMCI) to the area back in 2016, when they acquired a large 18-hectare site.

Now it is home to the precinct’s most recently completed Ovation Quarter apartment development, with the first stage, Emerald, completely sold out and apartments still remaining in Sapphire and Ruby.

The two mid-rise buildings have each designed by renowned architecture firm KANNFINCH.

AYMCI Director Jason Tan says the area has come a long way from inception. As more and more residents get settled in their new homes there is that energy in the area that was not there previously

“Residents enjoy using the facilities and the more they explore and invite new friends and family members the more you can feel that buzz of excitement in the area,” Tan says.

“It is certainly obvious when celebrities like Taylor Swift are in the area."

“This is why my development has added to the success of the precinct and why purchasers have flocked to buy even in times of rising interest rates. More than one hundred (100) sales were achieved last year.”

“We were blown away by their foresight of how the area will continue to evolve with the surrounding infrastructure around the developments.”

“It already has world-class sporting and entertainment facilities as a starting point from the Sydney Olympic Games. Purchasers know it can only continue to become that safe, family friendly community where everything is at your door.”

“People want it, so we are all working towards the same masterplan where myself and other developers, local council, Government with their readily available schemes and business owners are building the best Sydney’s west has yet to experience.”

One of the biggest attractions to Sydney Olympic Park is how connected it is to the city. The infrastructure put in place for the Olympics is still the main connection point to the city, with the Sydney Olympic Park Station connecting residents to Central Station in just 33-minutes.

SOP is set to become even more connected to Greater Sydney. The second stage of the Parramatta Light Rail will connect stage one and Parramatta's CBD to Sydney Olympic Park via Camellia, Rydalmere, Ermington, Melrose Park and Wentworth Point.  

It will deliver high frequency ‘turn up and go’ services’ every 7.5 minutes on weekdays between 7am to 7pm, and around every 10-15 minutes outside those times, and on weekends and public holidays. 

Stage two will also connect to Sydney Metro West (under construction) and heavy rail in Parramatta and Sydney Olympic Park; as well as ferry services at Rydalmere and Sydney Olympic Park. 

While density is natural around these kinds of precincts, there is still 430-hectares of green open space surrounding SOP, one of the largest urban parks in Australia. Its parklands feature ideal spots for picnics, playgrounds, wetlands and waterways including a network of paths and cycleways.

Sydney Olympic Park, also a 6-Star Green Star Community, is set for further expansion as part of the Sydney Olympic Park Masterplan to create a more dynamic and thriving precinct by 2030.

Sapphire and Ruby are both just across the road from Accor Stadium and Qudos Bank Arena and a short walk to the hospitality strip near the Olympic Station which is also set for a $585 million investment injection which will see three new buildings built adjacent to the new Metro station.

There will be one commercial and retail tower and two residential towers, set above four-level podiums and an activated ground plane which will serve the wider community.

More retail is on offer at Sydney's leading international fashion outlet DFO in neighbouring suburb Homebush is also just a short trip from Sapphire and Ruby.

Both families and mum and dad investors have shown interest at Sapphire and Ruby apartments given the proximity to several top private and public schools including MLC, Newington Public School, Lidcombe Public School, SEDA College, and Charles Sturt University.

There are just two-bedroom apartments left in Ruby, priced from $799,000, and two and three-bedrooms in Sapphire, all under $1 million.