The NSW government has approved plans to build three towers of 21, 17 and nine storeys above Crows Nest metro station as part of the latest major “over-station development” for Sydney.
The design of the metro station and integrated development is being overseen by Woods Bagot and the Crows Nest Design Consortium, which is led by SMEC also includes Robert Bird, NDY and landscape architect Oculus.
In September 2020, Sydney Metro submitted an amended concept application reducing the biggest tower from its original 27 storeys to 21 storeys. The tower will also be changed from residential to commercial, and will now house 40,300 square metres of office space.
The 17-storey tower will include 13,000 for residential uses with the hotel proposed in earlier plans dropped.
The changes were made after a period of public exhibition attracted some 655 submissions from the public, the vast majority of which objected to the proposal, with the size and bulk of the proposal a major concern. North Sydney Council objected to the original proposal, citing excessive overshadowing of Ernest Place and Willoughby Road and the visual impact of the development which “has a high propensity to be quite overbearing and potentially inconsistent with the highly valued character of Crows Nest.” The council also suggested that affordable housing should be included in the residential component. The amended proposal includes an allocation of 5 percent affordable housing, to be managed by a community housing provider.
The amended concept proposal attracted 29 submissions, with the bulk of the public submissions again objecting to the proposal.
Speaking to media, planning mister Rob Stokes defended his decision to approve the concept proposal. “While I understand that some current Crows Nest residents won’t be happy about growth, this proposal has improved considerably,” he said
“Residents were concerned about overdevelopment, and for more focus on providing more jobs than more homes. In response, the building envelope has been reduced, jobs capacity doubled and the number of new homes halved.”
The government will now seek interest from the private sector to develop the precinct and progress to detailed design.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
