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Jeweller Cosimo Mirarchi will have to leave his premises by mid-2021. (ABC News: Sarah Hawke)
Cosimo Mirarchi spent five years choosing the perfect location for his jewellery store in Five Dock, in Sydney's inner west.
He moved in just two months ago but on Monday arrived at work to discover the building will be demolished to make way for one of Sydney's new Metro West train stations.
"I didn't have any idea, not even the landlords knew," he said.
"I am disappointed because I put a lot of time and effort to find the right premises … and now I've got to start all over again, so that's going to be the hard part.
"I am right in the heart of Five Dock and to find that again is going to be very, very hard."
Mr Mirarchi said he knew the metro was coming to Five Dock but its exact location came as "a bit of a shock".
On Monday, the Government confirmed seven new train stations for the Metro West project between the CBD and western suburbs and said the new train line would be open to the public by 2030.
The underground line will include stops at Westmead, Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park, North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock and the Bays Precinct.
The Government will acquire 93 businesses and 23 residential properties to build the project.
- Westmead: Eastern side of Hawkesbury Road, south of the existing Westmead Station
- Parramatta: Between George, Macquarie, Church and Smith streets
- Sydney Olympic Park: East of Olympic Boulevard
- North Strathfield: Adjacent to existing North Strathfield Station
- Burwood North: Corner of Burwood and Parramatta roads
- Five Dock: Great North Road, between East Street and corner of Second Avenue
- The Bays Precinct: Between Glebe Island and Bay Power Station
At some sites, such as at Parramatta and Burwood North, commercial properties will mostly be affected.
At other sites, like Olympic Park and North Strathfield, it appears there will be little effect on commercial or residential properties.
On the streets of Five Dock, reactions to the metro were mixed.
Tan Doan, who owns Rocco's Cafe, thought it would be "great for the area".
"It's going to bring a lot more people to Five Dock and it's going to provide a great transport system linking Five Dock to the city and other areas of the inner west," he said.
Mr Doan said he was relieved to discover the station would be located up the road from his cafe and said construction would likely mean an increase in business from tradespeople working on the project.
But one of his customers, Nick, who lives in nearby Russell Lea, was having none of it.
"I don't want a metro station here in Five Dock — I'm quite happy with the way it is."
He said the metro would cause a lot more traffic on already "hectic" Great North Road, particularly in the afternoons.
Nick's friend Alec agreed the area was already too congested and thought the bus services to the city were adequate.
He feared a repeat of the Government's beleaguered light rail project, which affected some business in the city and eastern suburbs for years.
"If you could be guaranteed a 12 to 18-month project I think businesses in the local area could handle that but we saw what happened in town and that just can't happen again — it just is unfair."
Local barber Joe said the metro would be "good for the area, bringing in new people and new buildings come in and I think it will be good for local businesses".
Jeweller Cosimo Mirarchi will have to move out of his building by mid-2021.
While he was disappointed his business will be personally affected, he said the area would ultimately benefit from the metro.
Topics: government-and-politics, states-and-territories, state-parliament, rail-transport, five-dock-2046, westmead-2145, burwood-2134, north-strathfield-2137, glebe-2037
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