At the corner of Victoria Road, Devlin Street and Eagle Street, a gateway position in the Ryde Town Centre, about 350 metres from Top Ryde, served by buses along the Victoria Road corridor.

It's currently a car wash and an auto electrical service centre, an underused corner in a town centre that is changing. This is a chance to deliver well-designed homes, including affordable housing and co-living rarely available in this part of Ryde, activate the street with retail, and improve the public domain.

The proposal is assessed as State Significant Development (SSD), via the NSW Housing Delivery Authority pathway. A development application and a concurrent rezoning of the Ryde LEP will be lodged with the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. The NSW Government — not City of Ryde — is the consent authority. Once lodged, the application goes on public exhibition (around 28 days), during which anyone can make a formal submission.

The site is currently zoned for productivity-support uses with a low height limit. To deliver homes here, the proposal includes a concurrent rezoning of the Ryde LEP — adding retail as a permitted use and increasing the permitted height and floor space. The rezoning and the application are assessed together by the NSW Government as a single coordinated process.

Co-living homes are smaller, self-contained studio-style homes with access to shared facilities, kitchens, lounges and social spaces, professionally managed as a single operation. They offer a more affordable, flexible option close to the town centre.

The building is designed by Turner Studio as a slender tower over an active podium, set toward the eastern boundary to improve light, ventilation and outlook. At ground level, retail and new lobbies animate the Victoria Road frontage.

The site is served by buses and is within walking distance of Top Ryde. Vehicle access and loading are proposed from Eagle Street. A traffic, transport and accessibility assessment forms part of the application, prepared with Transport for NSW, and will be public at exhibition.

Any building of this scale has some impact, and we want to be honest about that. The design places a single slender tower toward the eastern boundary, with a larger western setback that improves southern outlook and light compared with a bulkier form. Detailed view and solar studies form part of the application and will be public at exhibition.

The site sits near local heritage items, including St Anne's Ryde Anglican Church and Cemetery and Great North Rock. A Heritage Impact Statement assesses the proposal's effect on these items and will be public at exhibition.

A build of this scale will be felt locally. A Construction Environmental Management Plan will govern the works, access, hours, noise, dust and traffic, with a named community contact for the life of the build. Full details form part of the application.

There are several ways to learn more and give feedback, including a community information session. Register to be first to hear about events and exhibition, and complete the short survey on the Have your say page.