The NSW government has released a revised masterplan for a significant redevelopment precinct in on Sydney’s foreshore.
The Blackwattle Bay precinct, masterplanned by FJMT, is an urban renewal area on the current site of the Sydney Fish Market, which will be relocated to a new $750 million facility designed by Danish architecture firm 3XN in association with BVN and Aspect Studios.
The redevelopment of the existing fish market site will complete the missing link of the otherwise continuous 15-kilometre waterfront promenade from Woolloomooloo to Rozelle Bay.
More than 2,400 submissions were made in response to the the original plans for Blackwattle Bay during the public exhibition period held from 2 July to 20 August 2021, including from the City of Sydney, which claimed the plan was a “gross overdevelopment”.
Lord mayor Clover Moore’s expressed concerns about the lack of affordable housing in the masterplan, which only made up five percent of the proposed residences, as well as resulting densification and overshadowing from the proposed towers, and the likelihood of increased noise and pollution.
The original masterplan called for 1,500 apartments across 12 towers of up to 45 storeys. The revised masterplan proposes a reduction in building heights to 35 storeys, a reduction in density which would result 29 percent reduction in population, with 840 fewer than in the former plan, and a 37 percent reduction in carparking.
The proposed foreshore and promenade boardwalk has also been widened under the new proposal from 10 to 20 metres. While double its previous proposed width, it is still 10 metres shy of what was recommended by the City of Sydney.
Open space will also be increased from to 30,000 square metres under the new designs, and affordable housing now targeting 15 percent of all residential space – triple the state-wide target.
Infrastructure Minister Rob Stokes said the government responded to community feedback on the earlier proposal by reducing building height and density, as well as increasing the availability of public space.
“This vision, alongside the construction of the new Sydney Fish Market will completely transform Blackwattle Bay from a patchwork of industrial uses to a stunning stretch of Sydney Harbour open to the public for the first time in 150 years,” Minister Stokes said.
“We want this precinct to stand the test of time, which is why we’ve listened to feedback from the community and doubled the width of the boardwalk, created more open space and reduced building heights to create a more sustainable place.”
However, Moore is still not satisfied with the government’s response, stating that while council supports a harbour foreshore renewal, it should not be at the expense of community benefit.
“This is public land,” Moore said on Facebook on 29 July. “Minor tweaks to the initial plan won’t adequately address the community’s concerns about a wall of residential development located hard up against the noisy, polluted motorway, overshadowing existing apartments and public spaces.”
The revised masterplan will be on public exhibition with feedback welcome until Friday 26 August.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
