THERE'S more to Parramatta's commercial development future than Civic Place, according to NSW Treasurer Mike Baird.
Mr Baird visited the area to meet with Parramatta lord mayor Lorraine Wearne and Parramatta Council chief executive Robert Lang to discuss moving state government offices to the area.
"It was disappointing that Civic Place hasn't gone ahead as planned, because there was years of work put into it," Mr Baird said.
"But I know that it is still going ahead, in another form.
"It's a great CBD that you've got here, so there is a lot more potential commercial office space here, there is a lot of opportunity."
Parramatta MP Geoff Lee organised the meeting, which took place at his office on Friday.
Mr Baird said the NSW government was committed to decentralising its offices and more state government jobs would be moved to western Sydney soon.
He will speak at the council's development forum designed to attract business investors to Parramatta which will be held at the Sydney Opera House on May 16.
Ms Wearne also told Mr Baird about the council's light rail link proposal which she said would link the northern and southern parts of western Sydney and solve many of western Sydney's infrastructure problems.
She said there was a lot of developer interest in Parramatta already, particularly in residential buildings and zoning allowed buildings in Parramatta to be as tall as those in Sydney CBD.
Mr Baird said he was impressed by the council's proposals and he would take them to the state property authority for consideration.
When the Sun asked whether the minister was aware of the ring road proposal, he said he had been taken on a tour of the proposed route by Mr Lee and he thought it was a good idea.
"It will be one of the projects which will be included by Infrastructure NSW in their current review of project all over the state," he said.
He said Parramatta Council was one of the most proactive councils in Sydney and he could tell their plans could benefit western Sydney.
Mr Lang told Mr Baird that unlike other major central business districts in western Sydney like Penrith, Liverpool and Campbelltown, Parramatta was already a city and could accommodate many government jobs.
He said the area offered many positives including much cheaper average rents than Sydney city.
Mr Lang said past experience with the Eclipse tower had shown that if the state government committed to renting out space in a building, corporate clients would follow.