Mirvac to kick off Harbourside redevelopment in January
Mirvac will start construction early next year on its $2 billion Harbourside Shopping Centre redevelopment at Sydney’s Darling Harbour after reaching agreement with the NSW government on a new 99-year lease for the site.
Building work will start in January on the demolition and rebuild of the tired existing shopping centre lying between the Novotel Sydney and waterfront at Darling Harbour into a mixed-use retail, residential, commercial workplace and entertainment asset.
The redevelopment designed by Oslo-based Snøhetta and Hassell Studio will create a five-storey shopping centre 87,000sq m of gross floor area, 45,000sq m of which will be commercial and retail space and 42,000sq m residential in a 166-metre-high tower with 350 apartments.
“This project will reimagine the Darling Harbour waterfront and provides a critical missing piece of the Western Harbour rejuvenation that has been taking place since the completion of the International Convention Centre,” Mirvac chief executive Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz said.
The $1.5 billion ICC completed in 2017 led a slew of redevelopments now complete or underway in the well-known tourist precinct including The Darling five-star hotel, Greaton’s $1 billion Ribbon hotel and the $650 million GPT-AMP Capital Cockle Bay Wharf redevelopment.
Mirvac’s renovation of the 2.05-hectare site will also create a new 3500-square-metre public park above the northern podium of the rebuilt shopping centre and widen the existing waterfront promenade currently in front of the centre Mirvac acquired in 2013 for $252 million.
The redevelopment, which came out of an unsolicited proposal Mirvac submitted to the NSW government for the asset built in the 1980s, won planning approval from the state’s Independent Planning Commission last year, faced opposition from City of Sydney and local residents.
In February, the Snøhetta-Hassell design won a design competition with a short list of six.
“The concept for Harbourside is defined and characterised by a network of welcoming public open spaces featuring natural materials and vegetation,” Mirvac chief investment officer Brett Draffen said at the time.
“At its heart, Guardian Square will become Pyrmont’s new neighbourhood park and community meeting place, with landscaping and moments of art and activation planned to deliver an enlivened precinct that provides locals and visitors alike with a powerful sense of belonging, community and ownership.”
The development targets a combination of 5 and 6 Star Green Star and WELL ratings.
Minister for Cities Rob Stokes said the redevelopment will complement the state government’s efforts to transform Sydney’s waterfront.
“From Bays West to Circular Quay, we’re breathing new life into Sydney’s harbour foreshore to make it greener, more accessible and more beautiful,” Mr Stokes said.
Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade Alister Henskens said the redevelopment would create an “iconic” new precinct in the heart of Sydney.
