Aqualand’s long-awaited Central Barangaroo development has been greenlit.
The decision unlocks the final stage of Barangaroo’s $5-billion redevelopment, ending more than a decade of delays.
The 5.2ha site between Barangaroo South and Barangaroo Reserve has sat mostly idle as a concrete slab since shipping operations ended almost 20 years ago.
It is expected to contribute $2.26 billion in economic activity and create more than 12,000 jobs during the construction phase, according to property consultancy Urbis.
The precinct is also forecast to inject $134.1 million a year into the economy.
Aqualand won concept approval from the NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces for its revised masterplan, Modification 9 Concept Proposal (Mod 9), allowing the developer to move ahead with its plans after years of legal battles, community opposition and government negotiation.
Construction is expected to begin this year and the first stage completed by 2030.
The project will deliver 75,000sq m of residential space, almost 16,000sq m for a hotel and more than 50 retail spaces, alongside 2ha of parkland and public areas.
A 270m long, 8m wide boulevard will link Hickson Park to Nawi Cove, while a second entry to the Barangaroo Metro Station will improve access to the precinct.
“We know how important Barangaroo is to all of Sydney and we are honoured to partner with the NSW Government to deliver this critical and final piece of the city’s largest urban renewal project,” Aqualand managing director Jin Lin said.
Legal battles dogged the proposal. In 2019, Crown Resorts and Lendlease took the NSW Government’s agency overseeing the project, the Barangaroo Delivery Authority, to the Supreme Court over concerns proposed buildings on the Central Barangaroo site would block views of Sydney Harbour.
Crown argued its luxury hotel would be affected, while Lendlease said the development would obstruct views from its nearby residential towers.
The dispute was settled in 2021, leading to changes to the masterplan.
Aqualand’s latest concept plan cut building heights in response, including scaling down a tower from 20 storeys to 10, while residential floor space increased to 75,000 square metres.
“Over the past eight years, we have listened to and worked with multiple stakeholders to get this precinct right for Sydney,” Aqualand Group head of development Ian Devereux said.
“Today’s approval enables the project to proceed and sets in process the completion of Barangaroo more than 20 years after the shipping facilities were removed.”
The precinct would also deliver what Aqualand said would be one of NSW’s largest public benefit packages, valued at more than $220 million. It would include cultural facilities, parkland and civic spaces.
“With approval of the Modification 9 Concept Proposal now secured for Aqualand’s Central Barangaroo development, the final piece of the puzzle can proceed,” Infrastructure NSW chief executive Tom Gellibrand said.
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