News & Updates

We all have busy lives and that comes mainly from the work we do and the way we spend our time away from work. The equation for most of us is how much work do I have to do to live the life I want. Most of us want a balance of working in a job we enjoy and enjoying our time off by spending time both at home and out and about. For a large number of people in Sydney that involves working and living near the CBD as the location gives us ample opportunity to both work and play.

The problem is there are a lot of people in Sydney. And all these people want to work and live close to the CBD / Harbour and beaches. This creates a density problem. The reality is do we have the space for everything we want to do in our lives. The opportunity is “can we create the space for change”

Waterloo and surrounding areas has seen much change in the previous 20 years, what used to be a manufacturing district filled with factories has now become a very large thriving community. The following is a look at the density of the Waterloo area.

Dwelling Type is an important determinant of Waterloo - Zetland's residential role and function. A greater concentration of higher density dwellings is likely to attract more young adults and smaller households, often renting. Larger, detached or separate dwellings are more likely to attract families and prospective families. The residential built form often reflects market opportunities or planning policy, such as building denser forms of housing around public transport nodes or employment centres.

Dwelling Type statistics should be viewed in conjunction with Household Size, Household Types, Housing Tenure and Age Structure for a more complete picture of the housing market in Waterloo - Zetland.

In 2021, there were 70 separate houses in the area, 1,465 medium density dwellings, and 15,981 high density dwellings.

Analysis of the types of dwellings in Waterloo - Zetland in 2021 shows that 0.4% of all dwellings were separate houses; 8.3% were medium density dwellings, and 91.0% were in high density dwellings, compared with 1.9%, 19.9%, and 77.1% in the City of Sydney respectively.

In 2021, a total of 86.0% of the dwellings in Waterloo - Zetland were occupied on Census night, compared to 84.4% in the City of Sydney. The proportion of unoccupied dwellings was 13.9%, which is smaller compared to that found in the City of Sydney (15.1%).

So high density leads to a need for more housing. When there is limited land we build upwards. The answer lies in high rise apartments.

Thousands of apartments planned for the Waterloo redevelopment in the inner city will make the suburb the most densely populated part of Sydney, new analysis shows.

About 7,500 homes for more than 14,000 residents are planned for towers up to 40 storeys high on the Waterloo public housing estate and the "Metro Quarter" around the suburb's future rail station. This would make the area roughly double the density of two of Sydney's most built-up suburbs, Rhodes and Zetland, according to analysis by urban planners at the City of Sydney.

The planners compared the state government's plans for Waterloo with built-up areas of a similar size – between 15 and 25 hectares – throughout Sydney.

Under the plans, the 21-hectare Waterloo site will have 360 dwellings per hectare, which the council's analysis suggests would make it the densest mass of development in Sydney.

The bulk of the precinct will be private housing, with 35 per cent social and affordable homes.

The next densest area is the existing Victoria Park development in inner city Zetland, which has 3200 homes spread across 16 hectares, or 200 properties per hectare.

The City of Sydney opposes the government's proposal for Waterloo. Lord mayor Clover Moore said the plans set "an incredibly poor precedent" and were an "experiment in overdevelopment with the most marginalised people in our community".

"In a very small area of just 21 hectares, they are trying to cram the same number of dwellings you'd find in much larger suburbs like Redfern, Newtown, Darlinghurst, Kings Cross, Bondi Beach or Pyrmont.

"It's almost impossible to find anywhere on earth a government has proactively planned to build a development as dense as what this government is planning for Waterloo."

A spokeswoman for Social Housing Minister Pru Goward said that 60 per cent of the buildings in the proposed masterplan for the Waterloo estate overhaul were seven storeys or lower.

East Chippendale, taking in the Central Park development and the southern end of the Sydney central business district, has 190 dwellings per hectare. Rhodes has 180 homes per hectare.

Potts Point and the Moore Park Gardens precinct have 160 dwellings per hectare, while Kings Cross, Elizabeth Bay and the area around St Leonards train station all have 150 homes per hectare.

The 16-hectare Green Square development will eventually comprise 3800 homes, or 240 dwellings per hectare.

The 6800 dwellings proposed for the Waterloo estate site alone would make it home to about 14,000 Sydneysiders, which is more than the population of the suburbs of Pyrmont and Rhodes.

The council's analysis shows that, in other parts of Sydney, a similar number of new homes planned for Waterloo are spread over areas about five times the size of the redeveloped site.

Roughly 7000 dwellings are found in each of the areas of Newtown (159 hectares), Redfern (117 hectares) and Ultimo/Chippendale (102 hectares).

In the combined suburbs of Kings Cross, Potts Point and Rushcutters Bay, 7400 properties are spread over 49 hectares – an area more than twice the size of the Waterloo site.

Across the harbour, 6000 homes are concentrated in the 115-hectare area that takes in apartment blocks in the four suburbs of Kirribilli, Milsons Point, Lavender Bay and McMahons Point.

The City of Sydney has put forward a lower-density plan for 5300 dwellings in apartment blocks that would top 13 storeys at the Waterloo estate site.

Councillors will debate the plan at an extraordinary meeting on Monday afternoon.

Ms Goward's spokeswoman said: "The Waterloo Estate and Metro Quarter will have fewer people per hectare, smaller bulk and scale, and more open space than Central Park, championed by Clover Moore, and Green Square town centre, a City of Sydney-led project. "In addition, unlike Central Park and Green Square, 35 per cent of Waterloo will have social and affordable housing provided on site."

Urban Taskforce Australia chief executive Chris Johnson said the plans and the level of density proposed were suitable for an urban area close to public transport.

"When I look at the numbers, it is 730 people per hectare at Waterloo [estate site], versus 1000 people per hectare at the Central Park development. It's not over the top at all in my opinion."

Residents of the Waterloo estate and public housing advocates have argued the redevelopment will not include enough affordable housing.

The issue is more units and apartments means we live in smaller spaces and do not have the space we used to have for our things when we lived in larger houses. The creates a situation where we need space for our stuff. 

No matter what the reason for it, everyone needs extra space at some point. The ease of storing your goods are facilitated by the self storage industry. They offer storers a secure and well managed space to store valuables, with 24/7 access and an onsite packing box store helping with your every need. They can also offer you insurance for your stored valuables.

For people running out of space in their home or office setting, a self storage unit provides a secure and economical option for accommodating the extra items. Likewise, self storage is a sensible option for anyone who’s looking to have an uncluttered work space by shifting items that they don’t need that regularly, but nonetheless wouldn’t want to lose entirely.

Self storage facilities are a growing industry with plenty of high growth areas near cities, as population growth and property prices makes everyone find themselves with a need for bigger space that is affordable.

If you need space and you do not have your own garage or live in an Apartment / Unit, then a self storage space from Kennards Self Storage is for you.

It just so happens that the largest Storage facility in the Southern hemisphere is in Waterloo. Kennards Self Storage Waterloo has 3,050 storage spaces and over 25,000 metres of space. We can even provide 24 hour access to the space you need.

Kennards Self Storage prices change every day, there are always cheap storage prices in Sydney.
You can arrange a space at Kennards Self Storage Waterloo from the comfort of your own home. 

Click here and you will easily find Kennards Self Storage Waterloo.

You will also find moving boxes and storage unit prices. There are a lot of cheap storage solutions out there but ask yourself are you getting bang for your buck.

Kennards Self Storage has alarmed spaces. Back to base CCTV Monitoring and no lock in leases,
Kennards Storage prices are fair and transparent. The website has prices easily viewed for every type of size needed. Prices are simply affected by supply and demand. Renting one is as easy as clicking the keyboard a couple of times. We will even provide protection cover for the first month to the value of $30,000. Sydney Storage prices start at $30 per month for a 1 metre by 1 metre locker. We can even rent you some storage shelves for your storage unit to help you maximise the use of your space!

You can also visit Kennards Self Storage Waterloo as we are open 7 days a week including some Public Holidays. Meet someone like Harrison or Tiffany and they will love to help you find the size that fits your needs. 

Kennards Self Storage Waterloo 
886 Bourke Street Waterloo NSW 2017
Ph: (02) 9699 9333

Parking available via O’dea Ave

Open Hours
7:30am to 6pm Mon – Fri
7:30am to 5:30pm Saturday
10am – 4pm Sundays and Public Holidays.