NEW RHODES PROPOSAL COULD TRANSFORM PARRAMATTA RIVER INTO A WATERFRONT DESTINATION
04 Feb 2026
Award-winning Australian developer Billbergia has submitted a State Significant Development application to the New South Wales Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) for a $3.2 billion vision for Rhodes waterfront. Titled the Rhodes Bay Waterfront Masterplan, the mixed-use precinct will deliver over 1,800 new dwellings alongside over 16,000 square metres of new public open space on the waterfront, dedicated to a range of sporting facilities and water activities, community parklands and a retail and dining precinct.
Set to feature eight residential towers between 22 and 40 levels providing a total of 1,840 dwellings, the masterplan has been designed by award-winning architects SJB. The development builds on Rhodes Place Strategy and is aligned with the Government’s long-term vision for connected walking and cycling paths along the Parramatta River.
The development spans 3.1 hectares across four amalgamated sites, at the northern tip of the Rhodes peninsula, fronting Cavell Avenue, Averill Street and Leeds Street. It is the suburb’s last-remaining north-facing developments that fronts the Parramatta River and, if progressed, it will open previously privatised industrial land on the Parramatta River foreshore and return it to public access for the first time in more than a century.
Integral to the vision for Rhodes Bay was the enhancement of public open space that provides continuous access from the foreshore through to the centre of the peninsula, that is well connected to the surrounding context. By unlocking previously privately owned industrial land at the foreshore and prioritising community and recreation facilities, Rhodes Bay will become an active waterfront destination similar to Blackwattle Bay or Pirrama Park.
“We are excited to contribute to the ongoing urban renewal of the peninsula from its industrial past to deliver a new urban village that will unlock public access to the Parramatta River waterfront,” Billbergia’s development director Saul Moran said. “More importantly, Rhodes Bay will deliver abundant new amenities for the existing community – with a waterfront promenade, community gardens and a multipurpose sports, retail and dining precinct,” he said.
SJB partner and urban designer Frankie Layson said Rhodes Bay is about opening the waterfront for everyone, linking Cavell Ave to a generous foreshore, welcoming new transport links and creating lively and walkable streets.
“It integrates social infrastructure, supports an activated foreshore precinct and calibrates height, daylight and open-space outcomes to create a high-amenity, mixed-use waterfront district,” Mr Layson said.
The Rhodes Bay Masterplan will also deliver more than $150 million in contributions toward State and local government infrastructure and affordable housing. The NSW Government is providing funding for a new Public Primary School on and adjoining site that will include fit-for-purpose classrooms and core facilities to meet the needs of the growing local community.
