Development of the Year: Barangaroo officially ‘best of the best’
SYDNEY’S $8 billion Barangaroo precinct has beaten competition from all over the nation to be named the Development of the Year.
NSW
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- New harbour cove, parkland for $6b Barangaroo
- Former container yard transformed into beautiful city garden
SYDNEY’S $8 billion Barangaroo precinct has beaten competition from all over the nation to be named the Development of the Year.
Judges said the rebuilt former concrete container wharf was the “best of the best” for design, economic performance, environmental commitment and innovation.
Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson said its mix of state-of-the art offices, shopping and residential precincts and waterfront restaurants combined to lift “Sydney’s position as a global city”.
He said the award, which was presented by NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts at a dinner in Sydney tonight, recognised the risk developers take to bring big projects to life.
“Barangaroo South has battled planning delays, campaigns against it, uncertain economic times yet it has triumphed as the most significant addition to Sydney’s global economic status while being an incredibly vital people space loved by Sydneysiders,” he said.
The award is a major slap down for Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore who has been a ferocious critic of the project for years.
NSW Government Architect Peter Poulet, chairman of the judges, said Ms Moore and the development’s other critics “need to realise that it works, it’s good, it might not be what they wanted but it is a success.”
Half of the precinct is left open to public space that is easily connected by ferry and the new Wynard walk and opens up part of the foreshore to the public for the first time in 100 years.
“It is not just about making money, it is about making a place that people want to work in and visit,” said Mr Poulet.
“This is the development industry thinking smart. They are making a place and thinking first about how people are going to use it and enjoy it. Here is has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
Barangaroo was the judges’ unanimous winner against competition from all over the country including Soho Village in Melbourne, the Promenade Aqui apartment tower in Melbourne’s Docklands and the new Oran Park Town suburb development in Western Sydney.
Rob Deck, managing director of developer Lendlease, said the precinct’s success was really measured on how people experienced and enjoyed the area. “Put very simply, Barangaroo South has become a place that people want to be, and we could not be prouder,” he said.
It has been a hit with the thousands of people who live, work and play there. Morgan McGlone, owner and founder of Melbourne based Belles Hot Chicken, opened a pop up store in a shipping container as Barangaroo was being built and then chose to stay on.
“It is now our flagship store — it is now our highest grossing outlet and the one we measure everything else by.
“Being there from when it first started building and seeing it evolve has been pretty neat,” he said.
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