Boosting business efficiencies
An innovative program to help practising accountants and managers wrestle energy costs and boost business efficiencies will be developed and piloted by the University of Western Sydney. The project is being funded by a grant of almost $350,000 from the NSW Government's Office of Environment and Heritage as part of their Energy Efficiency Training Program. WSBC is a stakeholder in delivering training packages through its specialised membership in Western Sydney.
One Silver and two Bronze medals
Local business Coleman & Grieg, has been awarded a Silver award for its outstanding results in the NSW Government’s Sustainability Advantage program. Moore Stephens Sydney West and Parramatta City Council were awarded Bronze medals by the Minister for the Environment, Robyn Parker, who described the organisations as leaders in their sectors.
Mission CEO resigns
Chris Bertinshaw has resigned as CEO, of Parramatta Mission, to pursue new career opportunities. He held the position for five years. In that time the mission’s turnover doubled to $20 million. He said the mission would have a chance to explore fresh leadership directions as it created a new structure and strategic plan. The mission’s senior minister, Keith Hamilton, will take his place.
RSL wins award
Parramatta RSL has won the Outstanding Financial Management award in the medium club category at the 2011 ClubsNSW Awards for Excellence. The club won the award for maximising efficiency in utilising resources and obtaining a higher profitability. The club’s board turned around its failing business model in three years after amalgamating with Castle Hill RSL, in 2008.
Parramatta Leagues sells property
Parramatta Leagues Club has sold an office building at 52 O’Connell Street, in North Parramatta, with vacant possession for $2.05 million to an owner-occupier. The club is having discussions about the sale of level one of 50 O’Connell Street for $3.175 million. Negotiations are being held for a development site at 46-48 O’Connell Street, to be sold for about $1.85 million, according to The Australian Financial Review.
Region UWS seeks dean
The University of Western Sydney has advertised for a Dean of Medicine, in its School of Medicine. UWS Clinical Schools and teaching hospitals are established at Blacktown, Mt Druitt, Bankstown-Lidcombe, Campbelltown and Camden, as well as Bathurst and Lismore. The school’s first cohort of students graduates in 2011.
Eastern Creek Coke turns first sod
Coca-Cola Amatil has launched the development of a $57 million manufacturing plant at Eastern Creek. The facility will make plastic bottle caps and PET resin preforms, which are test-tube shaped moulds to make PET plastic beverage bottles. The facility is the final stage of a $450 million investment in bottle manufacturing, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The total building area is 70,220 square metres on a site are of 151,475 square metres. Car parking: 300 spaces. Truck parking: 114 spaces.
CBD car parks on the move
Parramatta City Council will investigate a number of potential redevelopment sites, incorporating commuter carparking, as part of a wider strategy to move CBD commuter carparking to the edges on the CBD. A report on the redevelopment of the Macquarie Street and Fennel Street car parks will be prepared for ratification by council.
Key challenges facing the city
Population and knowledge-based employment growth, targeting younger workers, marketing the city brand and the Civic Place redevelopment are among the key economic development challenges facing the city, according to Parramatta City Council. Some $1.5 million will be allocated for project management of the $1.6 billion Civic Place project, which is scheduled to commence in the 2011/12 financial year. Stage one should be completed in 2013/14.
Change of name
Blacktown Olympic Park has been rebranded as the Blacktown International Sportspark Sydney. The change was made to capture the park's use as a home for both AFL team GWS Giants and the Sydney Blue Sox baseball team. After being built to host the softball finals for the Sydney Olympic Games, softball has grown to become a dominant sport at the park and a permanent base for Softball NSW.
Compulsory acquisition
Parramatta City Council will compulsorily acquire both the freehold of 14 Darcy Street, Parramatta, by agreement with the owner of the property, V.E.A.R Pty Ltd, and the ground floor leasehold of the property held by Robert and Irene Pellizzeri, for the purpose of implementing the Civic Place masterplan.
Printing firms fined $190,000
Zac Pac Pty Ltd and J.I.T. Offset Pty Ltd, which work out of the same premises at Ingleburn, where they produced cardboard boxes with plain or glossy printing for customers, have been fined $130,000 and $60,000 respectively, after having been charged with multiple breaches of the Occupational Health & Safety Act 2000.
Appeal of office space
The sales and investment appeal of the Parramatta Office market is steadily growing, according to Knight Frank’s latest Parramatta office Market Review. With markets such as North Sydney having generated a critical mass of transactions attention is now shifting towards Parramatta by virtue of its size, tight vacancy profile and solid rental prospects. The total office market in Parramatta is 685,371 square metres. The vacancy rate is 9.6 per cent. The average gross rent for prime grad space is $422 per square metre.
TMA group in legal battle
The Granville-based TMA Group is embroiled in a legal battle with the Philippines' national lottery body over a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) is trying to cancel a 25-year contractual joint venture under which TMA is set to build a $100m thermal coating plant in Manila.
$33 million refurbishment
Work is scheduled to begin soon on the $33 million refurbishment of Westfield Liverpool. The renovations will involve a complete makeover of levels one and two of the building, including widening of the mall, new flooring, lighting and furniture. The centre, which opened in 1972, has been redeveloped three times since then. The renovations are expected to be completed by December this year.
Granville Administrators called in
Australia's largest supplier of envelopes, Australian Envelopes, which has one of its six factories in Granville, has called in the administrators. The company is a major supplier to the country's biggest mailers, including the likes of Salmat, Stream Solutions, Geon, Blue Star and Ergo Asia. Its products are used for multimillion-piece contracts such as Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, the ATO and Centrelink.
$30 million for stage one
The Minister for Health and Medical Research, Jillian Skinner, announced funding of $30 million to go towards the construction of the $135 million stage one of a new headquarters for the Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research (WMI), before turning the first sod on the site.
Hospital wins an award
The Private Hospitals Association of Queensland presented Macquarie University Hospital with an award for Innovative Practice in the Private Sector, non-clinical/ operational innovations. The hospital won the award for developing a robust system that manages scanning and automated upload processes for paper of all patient related clinical documents.
Uni shares funding
The Australian Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) announced a project, by Macquarie University researchers, as one the successful applicants to share in $4.2 million of funding. Awarded in the category of Terrestrial Biodiversity, the project will determine future invasive plant threats under climate change.
Environmental performance
Bright Print, at Wetherill Park, has been recognised for its environmental performance at the NSW Government's Sustainability Recognition Scheme. Bright Print director Debbie Burgess said that the benefit of being able to discuss sustainability with other members of the program has been positive.
Property sold for $1.3 million
A private investor has purchased a commercial property for $1.3 million, at 76-78 Henry Street, Penrith. The property, adjacent to Penrith Court and the Henry and Lawson Street intersection, has a net income of $140,000. Gavin Shatford, of Raine and Horne Commercial Penrith, negotiated the sale on behalf of the vendor, Cama.
Properties sold in the CBD
The Heathley Keystone Property Fund No. 29 has bought the 10-storey, 8100-square-metre office building, at 80 George Street (on the corner of George Street and Horwood Place), in the Parramatta CBD for $27 million from 360 Capital Office Fund. Trinity Property Trust has sold Enterprise House at 1-3 Fitzwilliam Street in the CBD to a local investor for $28.3 million. The building is fully leased to the NSW Office of Fair Trading until 2013.
Masters stores bigger than Bunnings
A rugby oval and carpark belonging to the St Marys Leagues Club has been earmarked as the site for an outlet for Masters hardware store. Others in the pipeline, in Western Sydney, are at Narellan, Hoxton Park and Warwick Farm. The Masters stores, tipped to cost up to $23 million each, will be 40 per cent bigger than the average Bunnings stores. Masters is a partnership between Woolworths and US hardware giant Lowe’s.
Letizza Pizza in Hong Kong
Letizza Pizza Bases in Smithfield was one of 12 NSW companies participating in a major food, catering and hospitality exhibition held in Hong Kong. Letizza is a 100 per cent Australian-owned company servicing the retail and food service industry in Australia and New Zealand. Its bases are based on traditional Italian feasting bread. The NSW presence at the exhibition was part of the government’s program to help companies to win business in international markets.
Firms visit the Middle East
Adis Automatic Doors at Wetherill Park, fire protection systems firm LAF Group of Greenacre, Oldfields Advance Scaffolding, at Revesby and Austral Bricks, at Horsley Park, were among 12 NSW companies that recently took part in a major trade exhibition in the Middle East, thanks to support from the NSW Department of Trade and Investment.
New CEO of Goodman Fielder
The recent boss of Arnott’s, Chris Delany, will take up the position of Chief Executive Officer of Goodman Fielder at North Ryde, on a four-year contract from July 1. Mr Delany spent the past 17 months running operations in Australia, New Zealand and Asia, of Arnott’s owners, the Campbell Soup Co. Mr Delany, an American, decided to remain in Australia for family reasons.