New UWS site to trigger jobs growth in Penrith
Minister Mark Butler was joined by the Member for Lindsay David Bradbury during the visit to the site
Construction has commenced on the $30 million Werrington Park Corporate Centre on the University of Western Sydney’s Penrith campus.
Visiting the site today to celebrate the milestone, Federal Environment Minister Mark Butler turned the first soil for the foundations of a building that will become an important business incubator for Greater Western Sydney.The project is jointly funded by the Australian Government through the Suburban Jobs Program and the University of Western Sydney, and is also supported by the Penrith City Council and the Penrith Business Alliance.
Mr Butler says Australian Government funding of $13.5 million will support the development of the Werrington Park site and bring enormous employment opportunities to the community, including 200 jobs during construction.
“It’s great to see construction underway for this innovative development,” says Mr Butler.
“The Werrington Park Corporate Centre will be a cutting edge employment hub, business incubation and collaboration facility in Western Sydney, with a particular focus on the e-health, digital communications and intelligent engineering sectors.”
UWS Acting Vice-Chancellor, Ms Rhonda Hawkins, says the Werrington Park project is the result of close cooperation between the University and the Australian Government and Penrith City Council(opens in a new window) and Penrith Business Alliance(opens in a new window).
“Greater Western Sydney is one of the fastest growing regions in the country but many of its residents still travel outside the region for work,” says Ms Hawkins.
“By bringing together knowledge-based businesses and UWS expertise on one campus we hope to trigger transformational change in the local economy and help build Greater Western Sydney’s capacity for local jobs growth,” says Ms Hawkins.
The Werrington Park Corporate Centre building has been designed to minimise energy and water use and maximise the creativity of its occupants. Flexible workspaces, informal meeting zones and dynamic interior spaces will encourage the free exchange of ideas and collaborations between the knowledge-based businesses based at the site.
The Australian Government’s $45 million Suburban Jobs Program(opens in a new window) was established to support state and local governments to better plan and provide for local job opportunities in the suburbs of our major capital cities.
Werrington Park is one of three major projects across the country to trial strategies to help build sustainable communities and reduce congestion through the construction of local employment precincts in strategically targeted locations.
Construction is expected to be completed in early 2015.
Ends
25 July 2013
