Upcoming is a new public park zone scheduled to open in 2021 among the $6 billion Barangaroo development plan
A sweeping two-hectare public park, complete with waterfront walkway and new pier, will be some of the final pieces of the $6 billion Barangaroo development that will link the northern reserve to the office towers at the south-west end. The new park space, due to open in 2021, swings past the front of the proposed Crown integrated resort development in the Barangaroo South precinct and will allow for meeting and eating spaces, free Wi-Fi and bike parking.
It is the showcase of the project that the Barangaroo Delivery Authority, on behalf of the NSW government, says completes the design of Barangaroo South, as part of the authority’s commitment to delivering more than half of the area as open public space.
Using engravings carved into sandstone around the reserve as markers, Aboriginal artists Genevieve Grieves and Amanda Jane Reynolds have created a multimedia journey into the cultural heritage of Barangaroo.
The final stage will be at Barangaroo Central. The Renzo Piano apartments are in Barangaroo South between the Crown resort and Hickson Road. It is one of the biggest urban developments undertaken by Lendlease in Sydney and already more than 15,000 people are working, living and visiting the area with three office towers, apartments and waterfront restaurants. According to retailer David Jones its new, smaller-concept store is breaking initial sales expectations.
Within the southern area there is also the new International House Sydney, the first engineered timber office building and the new home to advisory group, Accenture, once completed.
According to the landscape architects, Grant Associates, much focus has been on allowing the area to catch the northern sun, but be more sheltered from the wind and hot western sun.
Under the development application, which will be lodged with the Department of Planning and Environment, and available on public exhibition as part of the planning process, the new public spaces will be across five areas: Hickson Park, Waterman’s Cove, Wulugul Walk, Barangaroo Avenue and Waterman’s Quay.
The proposed Hickson Park will be one hectare of public parkland and is said to be modelled on Bryant Park in front of the New York Public Library. Waterman’s Cove is the main area and is a fully accessible amphitheatre-style boardwalk on the water, which the developers expect will be a magnet for visitors and Barangaroo office workers. The extension to Wulugul Walk will be around the Crown Sydney Hotel Resort.
In a statement Barangaroo Delivery Authority chief executive Craig van der Laan, it was an exciting proposal for the creation of more beautiful public spaces at Barangaroo, which will be of enormous benefit to the people of Sydney. The new harbour cove and public park represent the next step in the extraordinary transformation of Barangaroo from a 22-hectare concrete container terminal into a world-class, vibrant waterfront precinct.
Architect Bob Nation, the authority’s design adviser who has overseen the design development, said the plans provided extensive public benefit and a completely different park experience to Barangaroo Reserve and the waterfront parkland proposed for Central Barangaroo.
The final section of Wulugul Walk, which hugs Sydney Harbour along the entire length of Barangaroo, will be the link that will complete the 14-kilometre waterfront walk from Garden Island to the Fish Markets and will boast a 30-metre-wide waterfront promenade, with an additional nine metres beyond the Crown hotel podium.
Barangaroo Avenue was Barangaroo’s “high street” and was a direct extension for the avenue that already runs through the existing financial and restaurant precinct. It is the primary north-south route through the area for cars and pedestrians. Waterman’s Quay will be a “grand tree-lined boulevard”, creating a link between Hickson Road and the harbour, about 113 metres in length and 23 metres wide.
