Did anyone else catch this advertisement in the classifieds of this morning's Sydney Morning Herald?

http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au/~afindlay/churchstapts.jpg

Expressions of interest submissions must be in by the end of this month (i.e. four days), and the tender process will run for four weeks from the 7th of July, and then they'll have a builder for the project!

Judging by this, I would definitely expect to see this one get started by years end at the latest! :)

This is the best news ive heard all day!! yeah i gave KAY some height info last year so he could draw the diagram. It will take over as parras tallest at 86m tall with 25 storeys.
Its 81m to roof.
the current tallest is Commonwealth centre at 83m.
but the Church st tower is much higher above sea level (RL102m) compared to Com centre-RL93m.
cant wait for this one to start!

heres a link to parramattas stats on ss.com-

http://www.skyscrapers.com/re/en/wm/ci/104878/

cheers

It's a very well designed building. Great to see it going ahead. This is Meritons opportunity to make some big money!!!

Yeah, this one seems to be going ahead! :)

I had a chat with developers during the Property Expo this year and they were talking about off-the-plan sales starting in 2 months!

Can't wait to see some construction activity on that site! It is gonna be the best residential tower in Western Sydney (by far the best location and hopefully high quality apartments...)

hey finn! can you repost render of the new tallest that is about to start?
cheers

Originally posted by CULWULLA
hey finn! can you repost render of the new tallest that is about to start?
cheers

Oops...just posted it in the other thread...oh well, I'll put it in this one too:

http://members.optusnet.com.au/lafin/churchstapts.jpg

just chatted to Bates Smart architect and he said the "official" height has come down in a recent section96 DA. Its now 84m to LMR down from 86m. the main roof is 78m. So it still becomes the tallest by surpassing Commonwealth centre by 1m!!
also he is sending me a updated render!!
watch this space>>>

What is wrong with Sydney????????????

Why the hell are they reducing it?

They should be doubling its height.

Top design. Thats one of the best I've seen for Parramatta.

well if its anything like Bates Smart current stuff (proximity @ Wooli creek and Parra polic HQ) its going to be bloody awesome.
ill post the render tommorrow.meantime heres a quick diagram ive drawn up to show exact location. Its perfect location right in heart of Parra!
ive also drawn in rough envelopes of the massive Civic place.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/500/126parramatta3ddiagram-med.jpg

large-
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/500/126parramatta3ddiagram.jpg

well, i was very lucky to get this latest render from architects.
its slightly differs from the one Finn posted. some of the balcs have been reconfigured. but it looks brilliant!

http://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2004/02/246214.jpg

Looks superb in full colour! Can't wait for this one to get started! :okay:

Thanks Richard - it looks so much better when you see a proper rendering!

Will be a great investment - the units on the upper floors will have a great view of the City Skyline & Harbour Bridge, and Westfield is just across the road. 11 new cinemas should be built above the new bus interchange (there will be no green space as shown above!)

Now i do like that one :)
I am for any thing for parr on that fact is in parr
But this looks great too

Fantastic news guys, fingers crossed this one really will get going.....I guess they were mucking around with the da and that's why it was off Estate Properties' website? Also good to see the fire station is still part of the development.

Thanks for the renders too Cul & finn!

Originally posted by ParraMan
Fantastic news guys, fingers crossed this one really will get going.....I guess they were mucking around with the da and that's why it was off Estate Properties' website? Also good to see the fire station is still part of the development.

Thanks for the renders too Cul & finn!
yeah, part of the DA was to incorporate the historic Fire station built 1898.

Indeed a modern & smart design. Anyway as I mentioned before, demolition has begun behind the old fire station and it looks like excavations will soon begin :)

Smart design. I like the different balcony styles, and the design generally provides some style for what would otherwise be just another box scraper. I can easily say it's going to be Parramatta's equvialent of the CBD's World Tower.

I agree, it will be more imposing also due to being located on a higher elevation than CBD.
Its RL is 16m at ground will most of CBD is at 9-10mRL.
So its LMR will reach exactly RL100m while current tallest (Commonwealth crt) is Rl93m.
The Civic Place sits at Rl10m so 90m-120m towers will have RL's of 100m-130m.

Originally posted by CULWULLA
yeah, part of the DA was to incorporate the historic Fire station built 1898.
so it directly rises above this bldg? wow. engineers will have to do some work.
heres a pic>

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/500/126parrafirest-med.jpg

This baby already has a name - ESCEN (or Escen on Church)! :cool:

The sales office is just about to open on the corner of Macquarie and Marsden Sts! :)

Also the Website will be up and running shortly (doesn't work at present - just redirects to Estate Properties homepage):

http://www.escenonchurch.com

weird name? i wonder what it represents? thanks for that ill update ss.com!

The sales office is opened yesterday at 144 Marsden St Parramatta and an advertisement appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald's Domain section which includes a rendering of the tower. Apartments are on sale from $359 000.

And those who want more information in addition to the website can ring 8850 5088.

interesting to see how sales go on this one? hopefully all 88 units will be snapped up and construction wil commence asap!

"Escen" means "Ascend" in French... 25 storeys above Parramatta! :cool:

I've been to the sales office - it's been open only a few days and around 50% of units are already sold (i.e. deposit taken)! I bet 90% of buyers are Chinese but also investors as this is such a prime site.....:D

The model displayed there is also cool - only the eastern face of the building is worthy of mention (shown on all renderings) - the rest are pretty much grey blank walls (only small balconies on the western face across the Westfield...). There is also a 20 m outdoor pool (reminds me of the small one at the foot of Parramatta's first residential 'super scraper' from the 70s - Wentworth Gardens!:D ).

Units are moderate in size (75+15 sq m for a 2-bedder) but finishes are better than the ones at Meriton's Fiori. There are also 3 bedroom penthouses and sub-penthouses....

Prices are freakin' ridiculous - around $780,000 for a two-bedder on level 20 (City skyline views are great especially if you have a good zoom on your camera lol) and over $1 million for the main penthouse! (this is Parramatta's version of the Time Warner towers' penthouse at the Columbus Circle at bargain price lol) :colgate:

Go Parra! :guns1:

thanks for the inside info alt! ascend is a great descriptive word for a skyscraper!
50% are already sold? faaark! thats great!
about blank walls, theres probably a design issue for the reason.
especially if it faces railway and large shopping centres!lol
i cant wait when they start posting views on real estate dot com!
I would of thought the prices would be around 1mil?
anyway good stuff!

Originally posted by CULWULLA
i cant wait when they start posting views on real estate dot com!


What, like this one?

http://img.domain.com.au/img/4514/2004275370_1_FS.JPG

This is from domain.com.au, and here is the listing:

http://www.domain.com.au/listing.aspx?mode=buy&id=2004275370#

Gee, this one better 'sell'. It's been in the pipeline for so, so long.

It will be nice to see a tall, sleek and interestingly designed apartment block away from the odds 'n sods yet intriguing clutter on and around Hassall.

You go girl!

Originally posted by Muse
Gee, this one better 'sell'. It's been in the pipeline for so, so long.

It will be nice to see a tall, sleek and interestingly designed apartment block away from the odds 'n sods yet intriguing clutter on and around Hassall.

You go girl!
quote from Altius-

I've been to the sales office - it's been open only a few days and around 50% of units are already sold (i.e. deposit taken)! I bet 90% of buyers are Chinese but also investors as this is such a prime site...

Well, that's a good start but no guaruntee. Not being a 'galss half empty-er' here, just healthily skeptical. Worse case scenario would be an Aspect or The Common-type history. Don't forget The Common sold out over a year ago but I think mainly to an investor market.

Anyway, Parramatta seems to dive into most apartment developments more so than downtown Sydney does. Different place, different policies, different environments although some of the fundamentals would remain the same.

Well the website, EscenonChurch (http://escenonchurch.com) is up and running- it still redirects to Estate Properties Australia, but you can then choose Escen to proceed to viewing floor plans etc. You need to register though to do this.

Looking at the floorplan for the penthouses, shows an apartment of about 100m2, with a balcony on three sides with central kitchen/bathroom surrounded by living areas on the east and sleeping areas to the west. The price for a penthouse is between $1.09 and $1.39 million. Interesting site, but not a huge amount of detail aside from the floorplans, the rest is just the usual stuff, although there is a nice aerial view from something like 200m up looking towards Sydney.

Cheers, it will be great to finally see this rising, truly unique for Parra, and finally something tall being built closer to the centre of the city.

Cheers

Sales continue to progress well with 60 % of the 93 apartments snapped up.

The mystery of the name continues as the word for "ascend" in French is "monter". I can find no entry for the word "escén" - see spelling in latest ads - in any of the French dictionaries I had a look in. Guess we will have to go to the source, the nob in the company who came up with the name.

The word 'escén' appears in a number of spanish websites when put into a google search, but it isn't translatable by babelfish.

In one of the searches, I found an 'escénicos' and that translates as 'scenic'.

I also put 'escén' into the google image search and it came up with a multitude of things, but most telling were photos of a theatre play, street party and images of mountainsides etc, and if you think of a common word that could link these it would be 'scene'

Escen definitely means ascend....

In French it is normally 'elever'...It is not Spanish either...The lady in the sales office told me it was French - she should have known better!

You can find it in Latin language:
escen(do) : -scensi, scensum = to ascend, go up, climb, to go inland

It is quite possible that a similar word exists in one of the other Romanic (i.e. neolatin) languages such as Portuguese, Catalan etc

Sorry, but "élever" does not mean "ascend", mon gars, but it does mean (tr) to raise, to bring up, nurture; to erect// (ref) to rise; to arise; to be built, to stand.
French is odd in that it does not have a form of the Latin verb as in "to ascend" (English), "ascendere" (Italian), but uses "monter" as in "to mount" (stairs and stuff) instead.
It looks like the Spanish link might be the likeliest option. The lady who said it was French clearly does not speak French.
"Escén" if it does mean, "scene", is a bit pretentious but probably appropriate under the circumstances.
Whatever, it promises to be a pretty cool looking building.

Hmmmm very interesting indeed, maybe we have all just been sucked in by marketing hype by someone who created a word that means nothing but would make us all think it does and then go around the world to find out, or even easier, to the sales information office ;) Whatever it means, as brizer said, promises to look cool- and that counts to me!

There has been alot of marketing for this development with ads appearing in the real estate sections of community newspapers such as the Inner West Courier and even the eastern suburbs Wentworth Courier carrying ads. The Sun Herald today has a rendering of the rooftop levels imposed with what the potential views could be like.

I wish I could have a scanner to prove my point.:bash:

Originally posted by Fabian
There has been alot of marketing for this development with ads appearing in the real estate sections of community newspapers such as the Inner West Courier and even the eastern suburbs Wentworth Courier carrying ads. The Sun Herald today has a rendering of the rooftop levels imposed with what the potential views could be like.

I wish I could have a scanner to prove my point.:bash:
your wish is granted>> it was only a small pic,(5cmx13cm) took me a while to locate it.lol

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/500/126escenviews.jpg

the views from top are nearly 100m above Parramatta River! thats quite impressive! should get good photos from up there. im going to try and access the top floors when completed.Ive chatted to bates smart guys and they said shouldnt be a problem.

Looks like the Escen will only be Parras tallest for a short time. The new 55-57 George Street apartment tower will rise to 105m/31storeys tall! Escen will be completed in 2005, i can see this new one completed in proabably 2006.Then in 2007 the tallest Civic Place tower of 120m will eclipse that! wow, talk about a boom!!

new tallest>
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1411726#post1411726

reposting the elevation of escen! how is progress going on this one?

http://img52.photobucket.com/albums/v158/culwulla/escen.jpg

I passed the site nearly two weeks ago and nothing had begun. The Fire Station appeared to be in a very sad state with some graffiti in it.

So not even broken ground yet :(

So not even broken ground yet :(

I said that no work had begun yet,no sign of hoardings or anything. I hope it starts soon.

its just a matter of time. the units have virtually sold so it wont be far off.

I heard a radio ad from Estate Properties on Mix 106.5 on Thursday morning just before 7:30 mentioning the development, but they didn't mention the name "Escen". They said that apartment prices started at $379 000. I thought it was $349 000.

I heard a radio ad from Estate Properties on Mix 106.5 on Thursday morning just before 7:30 mentioning the development, but they didn't mention the name "Escen". They said that apartment prices started at $379 000. I thought it was $349 000.

Sydney house prices eh? Get buying before the prices get any higher, so this building can get off the ground!

Just by the way, it seems they are keeping the old fire station, so has work maybe begun up the rear of the site? Me thinks it's going to be difficult going if they're keeping the fire station and building on top of it somehow.

any recent pix?

It is not worth taking a pic yet! The old Fire Station has been demolished (one wall left a la Exeter Manor) but excavation has not commenced.

fire station demolished??? that was supposed to be intergrated into towers base.
sure?

fire station demolished??? that was supposed to be intergrated into towers base.
sure?

Yep, demolished ..... all thats left standing is the facade as Altius said ... "one wall left a la Exeter Manor".

Everything behind it has been cleared, its been like that for weeks, I'm not too sure if an archeological dig will take place as this is the norm in Parramatta before any pilling and construction starts.

Well after inspecting the site today (sorry no pics yet...) I've found excavation has reached about third basement level, and there appears to be some pilings on site. And there were workers and machinery on site!

Looks like this one is on its way up, up, up!!

any news

any recent pix?

I grabbed this on Nov 4 with the remaining facade along the Church Street side.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid145/p1c6ec843641de9e3476d3860ef80cb9a/f661bb35.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid145/pcf16fcde3a69fe29c3cf99024921469f/f661bb68.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid145/p529f2a39d694fa217e40dff2f83dd681/f661bb4f.jpg

No progress since Nov 4! :bash:

This kinda sucks...Hope they will start building the bloody thing early next year.

this building will have a large pool on it lower level wont it?

Yes, medium size pool. Nothing extraordinary.

they should really promote the sale with a large sign>"TALLEST BUILDING IN PARRAMATTA" or "HIGHEST RESIDENCE WEST OF SYDNEY" ect ect.might as well. It wont be tallest for long!maybe they dont know? i might contact them and inform them! ill even send them a diagram showing progression thru the years! It wil be part of Parramattas rich history as its tallest edifice at one stage, probably from 2005-2007 eg.
;-)

Excavation of about three or four levels down seems to have been completed with new poles appearing on site in the last few days.

Yes, they are marketing the tower with something about new heights, it will be the tallest for a short while, as the Parramall site was finally approved over Christmas, and construction hopefully to start this year of that one....

^ parramall? whats it look like?

^ parramall? whats it look like?

It's just an ordinary run down western suburbs shopping centre. :(

pic by ALTIUS FEB 15
http://pic17.picturetrail.com/VOL795/2808866/5644163/85028212.jpg

any recent pix

^^ I put some in the "Parramatta Projects" thread, from around 20 March. Since then I am far too far away, but would love to see some updated pics! It should be close to popping its head above ground fairly soon I hope....

Still not close to the ground level I'm afraid! Very frustrating - I've seen construction workers there only twice over that past 2 weeks...

The crane has been fully assembled! They started on Wednesday night and finished today (May1). Also a small construction progress :)

:) :cheers: Very good to hear! Presumably this will soon appear to be rising.

The archaeological digs on site sort of slowed things down a bit, but hopefully we'll see more action.

incidentally, @ 84m Escen is also same height as Adelaides tallest building uc atm!! the first tower of city central.

heres a quick diagram as viewed from east.All heights are RLS>
Escen will touch Rl100m. higher then any other highrise in parra. Im currently compiling a diagram of parras skyline which will have the planned talls. This just shows Escen with neighbouring freightcorp. Also cuurent tallest-Jessie st centre and Colonial Tower. I through in Wentworth Gardens to show its high elevation in comparison.Its highest part of Parramatta.

http://img153.echo.cx/img153/5404/parrhighest5ve.jpg

For your interest the planned 105m/32storey george st apartment tower has an RL of 116m.

heres a quick diagram as viewed from east.All heights are RLS>
Escen will touch Rl100m. higher then any other highrise in parra. Im currently compiling a diagram of parras skyline which will have the planned talls. This just shows Escen with neighbouring freightcorp. Also cuurent tallest-Jessie st centre and Colonial Tower. I through in Wentworth Gardens to show its high elevation in comparison.Its highest part of Parramatta.

http://img153.echo.cx/img153/5404/parrhighest5ve.jpg

For your interest the planned 105m/32storey george st apartment tower has an RL of 116m.

That's very cool diagram Richard! Do we know the height of the Civic Place towers at this stage? Hope they could dwarf both Escen and Parramall?

I was told by parra planner last year that of the 3 towers, 1 will be 90m and the other 2 towers will be 120m+. So hopefully it will end up like this.
cheers

120m+ ?!?!?! WOW! Now that's something worth cheering about.

Good for Paramatta.

The Escen core is 2 levels above ground! Should rise fairly quickly now. :)

Thanks Altius, great news. That section of Parramatta, which has already transformed itself in the last year or two, will certainly be a totally different sight soon enough.

It has taken some time to get to this point, but don't forget that there are/were six levels of ubasement to be built first.

it very shanghi i think which looks good

any updates guys? im going to add this diagram to monthly construction diagrams, becauae its over 80m, so ill add it to sydney's update. all i need is a photo near the end of each month.
cheers

^hmmmm should i?........

btw its not called jessie centre

btw its not called jessie centre

Its one of its names if not the original name. One company I worked for had an office there and we always refered to it as the "Jessie St Centre", sometimes the Commonwealth Centre.

^ correct

i was down there just last wednesday am im positive it had a new sign on its entrance.... but i might be wrong

guys, any Escen updates should go in Escen thread. since its a big one (80m+) it has its own thread. for smaller ones maybe in parra thread.
latest pic by p maloney
http://img33.echo.cx/img33/694/img27594cb.jpg

I saw this one yesterday and its starting to show. the view from in between this and the interchange is going to look fantastic.

Does it look like it's risen above the new cinemas next door from the train?

nope it still about 15m shorter

I was in the vicinity the other day and what can i say, what a transformation, the street is unrecognisable and with the new cinemas/westfield and Escen, being on Church street was making me feel claustrophobic.. iits gonna turn into a nice canyon once the projects are completed.

Core rise 5 (6 in box)

photos?

ok will do cull

anything recent? i was jst updating aug1 diagram. maybe 8 in box?

probaly about 7 its same height as the new westfield section next door

any floors done yet?

um from what i could see it looked like it may be at ground level eg. level with the ground

anyone been out there? any aUgust updates, gonna be hard to update sept1 diagram.

Im at Parra 1-2 times a week so if you want a picture update ill be glad to take one the next time im there. Haven't used my Camera in a while though.

I was out at Parra today and the Westfield Development, Escen and the new Train Station construction sites were buzzing!

GO THE EELS :D

thanks rony

any recent pix anyone? its parras next tallest!

some renders from realestate.com
http://www.realestate.com.au/objects/props/9026/102649026mm1125907900.jpg

http://www.realestate.com.au/objects/props/9026/102649026al1125907901.jpg

elevation
http://www.realestate.com.au/objects/props/9026/102649026bl1125907903.jpg

Sheesh! I can't believe how small apartments are getting these days. Tiny boxes.

100sqm for a 3 bedroom. thats small

last photo was june 23.
its getting harder to update monthly diagram.anyone planning on going to parra soon?
appreciate anything?
cheers

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/citiboy/escan2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/citiboy/westfield.jpg

last photo was june 23.
its getting harder to update monthly diagram.anyone planning on going to parra soon?
appreciate anything?
cheers
ahem ....www.urbanheaven.co.nr....

Thanks citiboy and Petermaloney for the pictrorial updates, I saw your post (citiboy) on Meriton tower, and had my fingers crossed that you'd made it out to Parra. Looking good, looks like level 12 (or 17 including basement) in corebox, the floorplates begin at level +4. Another 17 core rises to go!!

Cheers Matt

excellent citiboy! finally. looks good.
cheers

Top pics guys! :okay:

Thanks citiboy and Petermaloney for the pictrorial updates, I saw your post (citiboy) on Meriton tower, and had my fingers crossed that you'd made it out to Parra. Looking good, looks like level 12 (or 17 including basement) in corebox, the floorplates begin at level +4. Another 17 core rises to go!!

Cheers Matt
matt, when i look at render, the first resi floor is lev2. then theres 24 actual resi floros. thats total 25 above grd. core box has lev8 inside.
see diagram

http://img446.imageshack.us/img446/8392/escen9rv.jpg


http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/7718/churchstparrarender7pk.jpg

Its really already making an impact in addition to the development next door of the transport interchange.

heres same diagram with current tallest-83m com centre. it sits lower then Escen so Escen will appear lot higher.

http://img414.imageshack.us/img414/4027/escen1zb.jpg

heres another diagram i did a while back.
ive edited in how escen was a month ago.
must be 4 more levels now> anyone been out there?

http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/9001/parrahighest1nz.jpg

I assume Jessie street Centre is Commonwealth Building. Haven't heard it refered to as that before.

thats what it was built as. i keep referring to it as jessie st centre.lol

a work collegue managed to get out to parra today!
Escen is going well. ground floor + 6 floor plates + 6 in core = 13 above grd or 45m!

http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/5670/escenup4qr.jpg

diagram update

http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/5691/escen7kw.jpg

It's coming along nicely. I'm hoping to be in Parramatta on Nov 28 as I have to go there for a get together, and I'll take some shots including distance shots from the station etc.

lennyr took this yesterday
looks like its gone up another level to 14 above grd.
http://img500.imageshack.us/img500/382/parramatta0302yt.jpg

so here is latest diagram

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/3327/escen3qn.jpg

Taken from the car. Bad angle on a dark and gloomy day.

http://rondeez.majbour.org/escen01.jpg
http://rondeez.majbour.org/escen02.jpg

Hopefully take some better shots later this week and some shots of the new Westfield. The new glass facade is looking HOT!

thanks rondeez
can you make out numbers on core?

9, 10, 11, 12

So it hasnt risen since lennyr's pic!
Dont worry im at Parra quite often. Ive been too lazy to take pictures but thats gonna change! :)

ta, so 14 in core. such a thin floor plate. should look TALL when completed.

Parra has changed tremendously in the past year. When it's all done and dusted, it should be more impressive than it already was. It is really amazing how big the actual CBD is. Now that it is filling up nicely it should give Chastwood, St Leonards and the many other little skylines over Sydney. Still a long way to go to touch North Sydney thou. That place (although i think is part of the main skyline) is a Skyline in it's own right!
I really think in 50 yrs Parra will have a skyline like Sydney's CBD at present only shorter, but by that stage Sydney's skyline should stretch 8km from Broadway to Chastswood !

I really think in 50 yrs Parra will have a skyline like Sydney's CBD at present only shorter, but by that stage Sydney's skyline should stretch 8km from Broadway to Chastswood !

Don't forget it's stretching towards the south too. Redfern and Green Square should have a nice skyline in 50 years time.

^ Your right. So lets say the skyline will be 16km long? That should be amazing. It should look like an Octopus actually with spines of scrapers with vic rd and parra rd sending tenticles west.

With the Civic Place development the Parramatta CBD should be more impressive than North Sydney. North Sydney's stats include residential high-rise from Mosman, via Milsons Point and past Blues point. Alot of high rise by the Harbour. Parra will equal the height and beat it for volume. North Sydney should lift it's game


(PS: I realise NS has 2 100m+ U/C, but still not enough)

With the Civic Place development the Parramatta CBD should be more impressive than North Sydney. North Sydney's stats include residential high-rise from Mosman, via Milsons Point and past Blues point. Alot of high rise by the Harbour. Parra will equal the height and beat it for volume. North Sydney should lift it's game


(PS: I realise NS has 2 100m+ U/C, but still not enough)

Sorry, off topic but my dream has always been to see the skyline extend continuously from Chatswood to North Sydney.

With the Civic Place development the Parramatta CBD should be more impressive than North Sydney. North Sydney's stats include residential high-rise from Mosman, via Milsons Point and past Blues point. Alot of high rise by the Harbour. Parra will equal the height and beat it for volume. North Sydney should lift it's game


(PS: I realise NS has 2 100m+ U/C, but still not enough)

I think that makes North Sydney impressive (IMO) is the fact that it seems very dense. Also it is set high up in a hill so the buildings look even taller. Parramatta on the other hand is flat and massive. It very well could be as large as other captial cities in Australia! That's why it is harder for it to fill up and therefore not give that big city feel.

http://rondeez.majbour.org/escen171105-1.jpg
http://rondeez.majbour.org/westfield171105-1.jpg

http://rondeez.majbour.org/westfield171105-1.jpg

:eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2:

That looks amazing!

Great pics Rondeez. I pass this site each day by train and its proceeding at such a rapid pace. :)

Render of the Westfield extension and Escen just behind...there will be 11 Greater Union cinema screens in the Westfield Extension. The render is very close to rondeez's pic of it ie similar architectural style.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/509/379westfield3.jpg

what does the sky bridge connect to ?

The main Westfield building.

Its also supposed to connect underground from the station thru to Westfields via the new Cinemas ...

been a month. can someone take a quick piccie.? just updating status diagram for xmas.
cheers

As of yesterday, floorplates are at level 11 and the core at level 13. Photos to come :)

Also I was driving out west to Penrith last month on the M4 and it was easily visible, and was probably a level or two lower than now.

^ the floors were at lv8 and core at lev14 1 month ago. see back.
so not much progress in core? are you countug from street or number of resi levels above high podium floor.?

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/3327/escen3qn.jpg

need photo.

^ the floors were at lv8 and core at lev14 1 month ago. see back.
so not much progress in core? are you countug from street or number of resi levels above high podium floor.?

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/3327/escen3qn.jpg

need photo.

I had a closer look at photos and noticed that there was another level of exposed core so yes it's level 14.. That means in the past month, the core hasn't moved and floorplates have caught up. Also My update was based on the floormarkings in the workmans lift located at the rear of the tower.

The rear is coming along nicely.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid198/pb12f5f83561b59cddc4bc1d665b7038b/f0f29a6f.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid198/p1bae93413f711b458277b0b36f1324a6/f0f299b4.jpg

From several blocks away

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid198/pa93b0dcfefef08506052fbea5ec15731/f0f2919b.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid198/p65d02f4a231ba309b17119e697b7920e/f0f29123.jpg

thanks fabs. its wierd how core has stopped to wait for floor plates.
anyway heres updated diagram

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/2931/escen7wl.jpg
cheers

any new updates for feb1 next week??
puleeeeease

C'mon guys, pllleeeeaaaase! It's not far out to get to Parra, 25 minutes on train (1hr waiting for train though...) and there's always a lot happening! Or if you like, drive up to level 5 of Westfield carpark, take a drive by shooting of the building, and go back again, all free!

http://users.bigpond.net.au/bolzak/DSC03368.JPG
Escen 28/01/2006

http://users.bigpond.net.au/bolzak/DSC03367.JPG
+ part of the Westfield upgrade.

More pics of new Parramatta train station soon.

thanks ron! perfect.
looks like lev15floors, 18 in box. or 62m/200ft or RL78m.
cheers
DIAGRAM UPDATE

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/610/escen0aw.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/citiboy/esen3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/citiboy/esen2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/citiboy/esenwalkway.jpg

excellent citiboy! long way to go to take a update pic for me.lol
its up to lev19 in box with 18 floor levels. or 65m .or Rl81m

cheers

from the roof of westfield today... crappy phone cam

http://rondeez.pfukke.com/Image1.jpg

http://rondeez.pfukke.com/Image5.jpg
http://rondeez.pfukke.com/Image4.jpg

so floor plates up to level 20... which means 5 floors to go!!!

i have to say it is looking very tall and thin especially from the north and south.

also.. the cladding of the cement on the north has begun.. ill get a pic ASAP.

Thanks for the pics rondeez. :okay: Looks good.

thanks ronny! good pix. its lev23 in da box,. or 75m high or 90m/300ft above sea level.
its currently 3rd tallest in parra and soon to surpass 81m colonial bank and 83m com centre.
cheerrs

diagram update
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/4945/escen2lb.jpg

as you can see, its just about highest bldg in parra

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/4071/parramattaskylinebest3sm.jpg

that time of month again guys. march is 5 weeks this year. if someone is out parra way this week before sat, i would appreciate a pic of how escen is going also 1 smith st supposed to be uc but must be the one with oldest pub relics?

Came through Parra this morning sorry no pics but the core box has been removed.

wow, that was fast, but then again it had only 3 more rises to go from last update in early march.
so now we have a new tallest in parra.
we need piccies!
thanks

Got photo through the train window this morning with my new 3 Sony Ericsson video phone, very impressive the phone I mean. Should have used zoom.

There is another building core rising fast in Parramatta over towards the river will try and get close up of it tomorrow from the train. :)

http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/5531/dsc000097pr.jpg

WOW, thanks for that nochas! the LMR should rise only 3m above roof. it looks like its 6m atm, so looks like another full floor to be built, level 25 is slightly setback ,so 1 more floor to go.

Heres diagrams update
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8769/escen2iq.jpg

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/2108/parramattaskylinebestapril4hl.jpg



anyway a render.> should be painting soon.
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/7718/churchstparrarender7pk.jpg

let us know about other core?
cheers

There are 23 levels of apartments already built atop of the podium which includes the 'lobby' level & 'swimming pool' level. Looks like there is only one more floor to come (the 'penthouse' level).

The Escen is an incredibly ugly building - dunno if black & white paint job could improve things a bit...The one who has paid $1 mio plus for the 'penthouse' must be nuts...

There is nothing else worthy of mention atm - apart from the 101 George & Legal Precinct which are early days only.

^ i count 24 levels of actual apartments? and then the 2 level podium bit. i dont mind the look of it. could be worse. could be meriton.
it will now have its hopefully short time in history as parras tallest bldg. lets hope next one is alot taller and grander.
cheers

The Escen is an incredibly ugly building - dunno if black & white paint job could improve things a bit...The one who has paid $1 mio plus for the 'penthouse' must be nuts...

There is nothing else worthy of mention atm - apart from the 101 George & Legal Precinct which are early days only.

I like the tower and it is the best one to be built in Parramatta to date :). Nothing has been built to this standard out there. They are very lucky to get this one as it would normally be found in or close to town. Brings a piece of the inner city to the west.

Also I Love the variations with the balconies on each side of the building.

The rendering image just shows the front side. What does the back side look like? Just a blank wall?

no, the back side is actually the front side of the tower.on church st and has deep set balcs with central core wall
http://users.bigpond.net.au/bolzak/DSC03368.JPG

Ok, it's not so impressive from this side then. Too much blank walls... :(

Pic of other core rising near the Colonial Mutual Bldg in Parra looking north east from the Parra train station, down towards the river. Does anyone know what building this is, its rising fast.

Apologies for the pic again taken through moving train window on phone.

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/4438/dsc000102le.jpg

that is the 13st/50m 101 george st cnr charles.
http://www.colonialfirststate.com.au/cpof/images/property/office_101_george.jpg

thanks

it will now have its hopefully short time in history as parras tallest bldg. lets hope next one is alot taller and grander.
cheers Hows the development on the other tall building going?

I remember going into a still intact and running Parramall a few months ago. There seems to be no progress on it.

^civic place? the first tower should start soon. it supposed to be 90m high.

I think iron_monkey means the 106m approved 55-57 George Street (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=205482) tower. To my knowledge, construction on it has not commenced as yet.


Elevation of 55-57:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/culwulla/parratallest.jpg

...

I think iron_monkey means the 106m approved 55-57 George Street (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=205482) tower. To my knowledge, construction on it has not commenced as yet. Yeh thats the one. This building seems to be vaporware, its been a year and nothings happening. Perhaps they decided Escen would be adequate.

^^ That could be the case.

As far as I know, construction also hasn't begun on the approved Bates Smart designed 89m 114-124 Church Street (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=237999) scraper either.

http://www.propertylook.com.au/listings/KF/KF_67/300/KF_67_30186_18228.jpg

The only tall U/C in Parramatta is Escen. Its rising fast making it rather visible from a number of nearby suburbs.

^ Yes, but not rising anymore, its topped out! we need some views from 1km out to show size.
there is another skyscraper rising fast. the core of 101 george st>

http://www.colonialfirststate.com.au/cpof/images/property/office_101_george.jpg

Escen from the East!
http://rondeez.pfukke.com/110406_escen1.jpg

Base of Escen!
http://rondeez.pfukke.com/110406_escen2.jpg

wow, looks tall. thanks rony

The only tall U/C in Parramatta is Escen. Its rising fast making it rather visible from a number of nearby suburbs.

And it dominates the skyline from Olympic Park :)

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/3956/p40877223nl.jpg

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8096/p40877174up.jpg

thanks again fab. Escens LMR touches 100mRL, so its getting up there.

http://rondeez.pfukke.com/250406_escen.jpg

thanks ron. looking tall.

http://rondeez.pfukke.com/010506_escen.jpg
Escen from the Westfield parking lot. Too much blank wall from this angle but looking tall. And notice the white undercoat coming on.

great shot ron!

great shot ron!

Thanks cul! Hopefully i can get to Parra one day with my actual DIGICAM and not my lousy Nokia Camera

Thanks cul! Hopefully i can get to Parra one day with my actual DIGICAM and not my lousy Nokia Camera

Never underestimate the power of Nokia phone!

http://home.exetel.com.au/miliux/forumimage/Parramatta/Image481-1.jpg

http://home.exetel.com.au/miliux/forumimage/Parramatta/Image485-1.jpg

http://home.exetel.com.au/miliux/forumimage/Parramatta/Image486-1.jpg

good stuff

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/citiboy/3cae5501.jpg

great shot. gee it looks so much more higher then the previous tallest (far left).its only 7m higher above sea level. cranes way up there!
cheers

has anyone seen aca report on escan?

apparently, the construction is on hold because the employer/developer is not paying subcontractors hundreds of thousands of dollars due.

also, the construction is absolutely shocking. the concrete is demented, not straight. basically, it is worse than eurotower. the ground is not stable and there are fears it may tumble. they have sticked timber in concrete gaps, the gap where it shouldn't be. some places have 40cm deep puddle of water, and it isn't a swimming pool. balcony not alighned straight, the floor is not perfectly flat and horizontal.

the court has placed this building on hold for some time until they fix this place up. so far, the developer can't afford to pay what they owe and probably will end up in court to settle dispute about payment.

Escen = lockdown.

yes i saw aca no good ---this may lay dormant for months i would hate to have put money down to buy one no one has checked this as it was being build ----subs not payed very bad --maybe a white elephant

i dont believe this.

Oh no :(

Who are the developers? Surely not Estate Properties of Australia that has been touting this for over a year now, along with neo200 on Spencer in Melbourne? They just seem like a marketing company.

Escen is still alive on its site: http://estateconstructions.com.au/properties/parramatta

...

Currently on the corner of Church street & Victoria Rd Parramatta (on the old BBC site) they are knocking down the building. Any idea on what they are going to build there?

theres a 27storey approved up near there but i dont think its near the cnr.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/citiboy/IMG_0026.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/citiboy/IMG_0028.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/citiboy/IMG_0029.jpg

Well it does look shabby from outside. Not much of a great quality. Won't be missed when torn down. It is an eye-sore!

lol, this wont be torn down. its probably media hype. it will be sorted out. bldg will be completed asap.safety issues etc
btw, i contacted the estate properties to pretend i was intrested in a unit and they seemed interested in taking details and ensured me the project will be finished on time. sales still going smooth.

Apparently this thing is already suffering from concrete cancer. Some of the balconies are obviously not flat and the thing called a right angle seems to have been forgotten about.

If Estate Properties are still happily taking down details for potential buyers and not even saying "We'll get your details for now and give you a call back soon", then they must be feeling confident.

Sure they want their split of the doe man, but they also don't want to create a bad reputation to boot. They have a few projects on their listing now, including a couple of major ones.

Sounds like an ACA beat-up using certain elements of truth.

anyone been out near Escen lately? hows its progress? photos?

The crane has been still for several weeks now. No movement at all.

..and those cranes tick up $$$s just sitting there.

Tear this crap down!!!

I think it is time to relabel this thread:

#On Hold: Escen

Apparently, a friend on mine read in last week's local paper stating the dispute has been resolved and the work will be completed soon

I think their local paper is called Advertiser

yeh i thought it wouldnt be long. people have bought units with scheduled times to move in.builder has to move quickly to make everyone happy.

I was told today by a chap associated with the company that the problem was the builder who, on top of doing a shonky job and not paying his subcontractors, did a bunk with a few million in his pocket and is nowhere to be found. The project is now back on track with the developer, Estate Properties, keen for it to be known that they were not the problem as the media implied, except in their choice of the wrong builder.

Well the crane hasn't been moving at all. Very little movement = no construction.

Explains why i cbf taking photos since there is no progress.

Forgot to mention that Estate Properties was advertising it in last weekend's SMH Domain. It is confident enough to do so.

Well the crane hasn't been moving at all. Very little movement = no construction.

Explains why i cbf taking photos since there is no progress.

Escen construction is back on track for the second week now...

Here's some update. back to work it seems...

http://home.exetel.com.au/miliux/forumimage/Image693-1.jpg

http://home.exetel.com.au/miliux/forumimage/Image696-1.jpg

It was structurally complete way back in April. only paint and glass balcs have to be added.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/citiboy/parra787777777.jpg

Well right now it is still not structurally complete. The top section is still not completed and concrete needs to be poured for the mechanical room up top.

the LMR is not going any higher.
im over this one. i wanna see more tallies in parra start up/

the LMR is not going any higher.
im over this one. i wanna see more tallies in parra start up/

Agreed. I think that Parra is destined for better things in the future!

old pic of escen. really dominates parra
http://www.realestate.com.au/objects/props/0116/103500116ml1159501136.jpg

^^ beaut photo Cul, can't believe only two weeks til I see it all for real...
still gotta agree a bit though, me definitely over l'Escen, some other biggies gotta take over now
Cheers

Today

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/5195/pb090336nu1.jpg

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/2117/pb090251og0.jpg

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/2254/pb090252ej6.jpg

great updates fab

It stands out ver impressively, although Im curious on its final colour scheme.

Taken yesterday. Looking good now that it's completely painted:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/Muse11/EscenA9Feb2007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/Muse11/EscenB9Fbe2007.jpg

yes, very smart looking highrise. bates smart always deliver
cheers muse, out and about in parra hey?

And mine..... :)

Looks fantastic from here

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/Fabian/Construction/P2090299.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/Fabian/Construction/P2090300.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/Fabian/Construction/P2090302.jpg