Barangaroo‘s longest-running drama is over, as the Central Barangaroo development has this week been given the green light by the NSW’s Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully. After a decade of false starts, resident concerns, and revisions to the developer’s plans, a revamped development plan has been locked in, with construction expected to start sometime this year.
If you’ve wandered around Barangaroo sometime in the past ten years, you’ll have clocked the gleaming towers, new swimming spots, and a huge, five hectare slab of empty concrete. In its former life, this site welcomed a steady supply of shipping containers. The wharves at what was then known as East Darling Harbour were earmarked for redevelopment back in 2003, and whilst the surrounding area has had a glow-up (including a new station for the Sydney Metro), this final parcel of land has been left untouched.
With this week’s announcement, work can start on the site’s redevelopment, which is set to include new homes, shops, restaurants and bars, a hotel, and community facilities. A new harbourside park, which had already been greenlit, will feature water play areas and interactive art – in total, two hectares of the site will be dedicated to public spaces and parkland. Meanwhile, a wide boulevard will link Hickson Park, in the southern end of Barangaroo, to Nawi Cove in the north, and open up a route to Barangaroo Reserve. A second entrance to Barangaroo metro station is also planned.
The delays to the Central Barangaroo development centred on the original inclusion of a 20-storey tower at the northern end of the site, which residents, the City of Sydney, and the National Trust opposed on the basis that it would block views of Observatory Hill. After many years of wrangling – and a trip to the Supreme Court – the aforementioned tower will now be just five storeys high, although other blocks that house luxury apartments and the hotel may reach ten storeys tall.
The project is a collaboration between the NSW government and developer Aqualand, and construction will begin before the end of this year. You can find out more about the Central Barangaroo project here, and we’ll keep you updated on any further developments.