Freecity 40-storey Parramatta BTR tower hits Assessment stage

Freecity’s proposed 40-storey build-to-rent tower at 1 Barrack Lane, Parramatta, has moved to the Assessment stage on the NSW Planning Portal, according to State Significant Development record SSD-79439459 checked on 3 November 2026.

For Parramatta builders and modular suppliers, the application is a live test of volumetric modular construction at highrise scale.

Why it matters

The portal record describes a 40-storey shop-top housing development, with ground-floor commercial use and 39 storeys of build-to-rent housing above, in the City of Parramatta local government area. It lists 618 build-to-rent units, 235 of which are capable of conversion into a dual-key arrangement, and names no applicant. Freecity identifies itself as the developer in reporting by The Urban Developer, which gives the site’s full address as 1 Barrack Lane and 81-83 George Street, a 3,071 sqm site inside the E2 Commercial Centre zone. Citing Real Commercial, the outlet reports GPT sold the Parramatta holding to Freecity in mid-2024. The application has already passed through exhibition: the record’s submissions list shows the City of Parramatta Council lodged an object submission as a public authority, Endeavour Energy and the Department of Education each lodged a comment, and one member of the public lodged a submission in support. The Department of Education’s attached comment is dated 10 December 2025.

Freecity’s executive director of development, Michael Romano, told The Urban Developer the company is “committed to the build-to-rent sector for the long term.” The outlet reports the tower would be built using volumetric modular construction, with factory-built steel modules roughly 11.2 metres long and 3.5 metres wide craned onto a concrete podium and core, a method Freecity says cuts delivery time by 40 per cent. The design, by architecture firm FK, sits on a three-storey podium with ground-floor retail and a lobby, two levels of parking for 71 vehicles, and a third-level outdoor communal area, above 37 residential floors.

By contrast, a 42-storey Aqualand build-to-rent and hotel tower proposed for North Sydney is still at the earlier Prepare EIS stage on the Planning Portal.

The numbers

The portal states 618 build-to-rent units for the Barrack Lane application, with 235 convertible to a dual-key configuration. The Urban Developer, citing Freecity, puts the unit count at 383 apartments capable of housing up to 1,100 residents, with the same 235-unit dual-key figure. The two sources agree on a 40-storey building and on the 235-unit dual-key detail, but the overall unit counts of 618 and 383 are not reconciled between them. The Urban Developer also reports a project value of $248.8m, a figure not stated on the portal record.

What’s next

SSD-79439459 is listed at the Assessment stage, past exhibition, Collate Submissions and Response to Submissions, with Recommendation and Determination still ahead on the portal’s own stage list. The portal gives no date for either step. The file already carries 56 environmental impact statement attachments, 36 response-to-submissions documents and 15 agency advice items, filed as the application moved through each stage. The Urban Developer reports the project is intended to meet the National Housing Accord window, which runs to 2029. The Australian Developer will track the application through recommendation and determination.