Why invest in the inner west?

Gentrification is coming to many Sydney suburbs but it’s only the inner west that’s being called the “new Paddington”.

The area is attractive for many reasons including its close proximity to the city, its thriving village-style atmosphere that boasts a burgeoning cafe scene, and its affordability.

Located directly to the west of Sydney’s CBD, the area takes in Balmain to the north, Newtown in the east, Tempe in the south and Croydon in the west. One long-time resident of the inner west suburb of Croydon is Judy Hardy who has lived in the area for more than 22 years having moved from Bondi in search of somewhere more affordable.

“We love the area,” she says. “It was close to my partner’s work and it turned out to be a great place to raise our two kids.”

The area is particularly popular for its sought-after schools such as PLC, Croydon Public, Rosebank College and Trinity Grammar. Hardy says Croydon has changed during the past two decades with more people moving in to be near the train line and to send their children to the local schools. But, she says, it has still retained its charm.

“The schools here are great and our involvement with them has allowed us to really become part of a community,” she says. “It’s only a 20-minute drive to the city and we’re close to the freeway if we want to head up to the Blue Mountains.”

Commuters can get to where they need to go via the Hume Highway or Parramatta Road and there are also frequent trains, light rail and bus services that link to all destinations.

Over time a number of cafes and restaurants have opened up providing more choice when catching up with friends. Hardy says while Croydon is great for food places, other suburbs within the inner west that are close by, such as Newtown and Enmore, means there’s something for every appetite.

The inner west is home to families, young professionals, retirees and downsizers and the many playing fields, as well as the Ashfield Aquatic Centre, are crucial to the community feel.

The reasons people choose to live in the inner west are the same key drivers behind a new development scheduled for completion in the area in late 2018. The Chelsea Croydon is located at 13-17 Grosvenor and 12-16 Boundary St, Croydon. Damien Kiley, managing director of Platform Project Services, the team project managing the development, agrees the area is like another Paddington.

Artist’s impression of Chelsea Croydon’s interior design.

“One of the attractions of Croydon is that it is not widely known outside the inner west and therefore still retains a village feel,” he says. “It has nice neat rows of local shops and lots of cafes, a post office and retail stores and they’re all near good transport links.”

Its location is a major advantage as Chelsea Croydon is located just 200 metres from the nearest train station. “Having a mainline station so close is a big benefit,” Kiley says. “Other important facilities are located within walking distance of the development, including most of the schools and as Croydon is also located close to the commercial centres of Ashfield, Burwood and Strathfield. The development is 500 metres from a Westfield shopping centre, which does away with the need to go into the CBD for the latest retail outlets.”

Kiley says the development has a key focus on liveability with generously proportioned apartments designed to appeal largely to owner-occupiers. “We have a mix of one, two and three-bedroom units with generous-sized balconies and plenty of well-designed living spaces,” he says. “The Chelsea Croydon offers the epitome of sophisticated living in an area that is seeing incredible growth.”