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- The Hills Shire Times
- Katrina Creer
Almost a year after moving into a luxury 19th floor penthouse in Castle Hill, empty nesters Paul and Cheryl Leuzzi are still pinching themselves.
The couple downsized from a five-bedroom triple storey home to the sprawling three-bedroom apartment on top of the landmark Atmosphere residential towers, last October.
Their views stretch across Sydney and include the Harbour Bridge, Chatswood, Homebush, Parramatta, Penrith and the Blue Mountains.
“It is amazing, I wake up every morning looking at the Sydney skyline and beautiful sunrises and sunsets,” said Mr Leuzzi, who works in the hair dressing industry.
“It does feel like being on a holiday — we haven’t gotten used to the views or taken them for granted as of yet.”
They are among long-time Castle Hill residents making the transition from a freestanding house to high-rise living — a new phenomena emerging in The Hills.
While they live just across from the Castle Tower’s piazza, the couple prefer a quiet takeaway meal at home on the terrace soaking up their incredible outlook.
They are now thinking of selling one of their cars as they are just metres away from the Castle Hill Metro Station.
“We felt that it was the right time to make the move — it was just the two of us and our old home spread itself over three levels but we were basically living in three rooms,” Mr Leuzzi said.
“Now we really don’t have too much to worry about and we don’t need to do anything.”
According to the Hills Shire Council, approximately 2,300 dwellings have been approved for The Hills Station precincts but have not yet been constructed. An additional 700 dwellings are anticipated, construction however will be largely dictated by market conditions.
“There can often be a significant lag time between approval and construction of these forms of development,” the spokesperson said.
There are currently only three sites approved for buildings over 19 storeys within the Hills Council area. These are Atmosphere and Skyview — both at Castle Hill and the Esplanade at Norwest.
There are around 20 units remaining at Atmosphere, a 378-apartment complex by developers Toplace. Construction has commenced on their other project Skyview, also located across from Castle Towers, which will comprise of five residential towers varying in height from 20 to 23 levels. It will feature an outdoor swimming pool, gym, community room, playground and roof top gardens.
According to realestate.com.au, while apartment construction is currently underway along the Sydney Metro Northwest route, there has been a limited amount of completed stock listed on the market over the past six months.
When looking at search activity alone for new apartments, Rouse Hill, Kellyville and Castle Hill have been increasing over the last few months.