After multiple attempts, a fresh rezoning proposal is being prepared for 245 Marion Street in Leichhardt – a 5,200 sqm parcel positioned immediately east of the L1 Dulwich Hill Light Rail Line.
Currently zoned E4 General Industrial, the site carries a 1:1 floor space ratio and no prescribed height limit. However, the applicant is seeking to rezone the land to R4 High Density Residential, introduce a 33.5m height control and lift the FSR to 3.2:1 – enabling a podium-and-tower built form that would deliver housing above active commercial uses.
Approximately 1,000 sqm will be retained for non-residential purposes, ensuring street-level vibrancy and employment-generating uses.
This is a calculated repositioning of a site that’s been in limbo since 2019 – and one that comes amid growing state-level pressure to unlock new housing near major transport nodes.
This isn’t the first attempt to redevelop 245 Marion Street. A planning proposal in 2019 sought similar uplift – a FSR increase from 1:1 to 3:1 and a 30m height limit. Inner West Council rejected this, citing insufficient merit.
A rezoning review was later escalated to the Sydney East Planning Panel, which also declined to support it in June 2020.
But the landscape has shifted.
In January 2025, the NSW planning department released its Industrial Lands Action Plan, signalling a new approach: grading the importance of industrial holdings to better distinguish strategic assets from underutilised pockets. That shift has opened the door for previously dismissed sites – including Marion Street – to re-enter the planning conversation.
The revised proposal argues that the Marion Street site no longer forms part of a cohesive industrial precinct. Instead, it sits as an isolated lot surrounded by residential and mixed-use developments already rising along the light rail corridor.
Its proximity to Marion Light Rail Stop, high-frequency bus routes and the Greenway parklands positions it as a textbook example of transit-oriented development.
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