Masterplan to transform Sydney Olympic Park from ghost town to mini-city
A ‘bold vision’ for Sydney Olympic Park has been unveiled, with homes for 30,000 residents, new shops and schools, and tourist activities.
NSW
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Sydney Olympic Park will be transformed from a post-event ghost town into an urban tourist and residential metropolis with new outdoor retail centres, restaurants and a Cockatoo Island-style events hot spot conversion of a naval depot on the site.
The Saturday Telegraph can reveal homes will be built for 25,000 residents to create an immediate “neighbourhood”, helping address Sydney housing shortages, with two new schools, four new sporting fields and 10 playgrounds and hotels to also be constructed.
One of the major Olympic Park carparks will be reclaimed as a parkland for “outdoor adventures”, and while the Minns government masterplan for Sydney Olympic Park does not mention a possible new racecourse at the site of the old brick pit, feasibility work continues by Racing NSW on a potential new track.
To go on public exhibition on Monday, the proposed Sydney Olympic Park masterplan represents an overhaul of the under-utilised precinct, with the document to guide development at the site over the next 50 years – and the creation of up to 32,000 jobs.
While the event buzzes during major events, critics of the site argue the area becomes a virtual “ghost town” or “deadsville” in between concerts or sporting matches.
To give the precinct life, the government is planning to bolster the existing population of 5250 residents to about 30,000, with new homes targeting families, essential workers and downsizers.
Exclusive vision obtained by The Saturday Telegraph depicts a mini-city with a new active high street and outdoor retail shopping centre located close to the Metro station, along with new restaurants and bars for locals and visitors.
The plan also takes a leaf out of Melbourne’s Federation Square concept, with a cultural centre at the key intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Dawn Fraser Ave – adjacent to the main stadium – to provide new opportunities for people to come together to celebrate arts and culture.
With the thousands of extra residents and visitors at the site – and the access to Sydney Metro West and Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 – the government has proposed Sydney Olympic Park become “car-lite”, with the focus on footpaths and dedicated cycle lanes.
To further put the park on the tourist map, the heritage-listed Newington Armory will be transformed into a visitor destination with markets, festivals, events and camping experiences to be offered similar to those at Cockatoo Island and Carriageworks.
The expansive P5 car park will be reclaimed as parklands and converted into a haven for outdoor adventure, complementing the existing Wave Park and BMX track, with discovery trails along water corridors to add to the “nature” experience.
The existing P6 carpark will also undergo a conversation, becoming the site of a high-density residential area.
Boundary Creek will be restored as an important waterway and transport link through the southern neighbourhood, connecting into Bicentennial Park towards Rhodes and the Pippita Rail Trail towards Lidcombe through bridges.
The proposed waterway transformation has been likened to areas of Christchurch in New Zealand and the Cheonggyecheon River in South Korea.
Planning Minister Paul Scully said the plan represented an exciting new stage for a site that had been repurposed from surplus industrial land into “the great sporting complex that we know it as today”.
“Over the next 20-30 years this area will change again to welcome more homes and jobs with a projected population increase of nearly 25,000 people,” he said.
“Planning for this growth starts now. The NSW government has mapped out a detailed and bold vision for the site, with four new sports fields, 10 playgrounds, dedicated employment zones and protected biodiversity areas.”
A source familiar with the plan said it contained several key “game-changer” proposals, such as the bolstering of retail and night-life opportunities, which were so desperately needed.
“It’s deadsville in between concerts,” the source said.
“The streets are way too wide and there is not a lot going on a lot of days. It’s a ghost town.”
Racing NSW has identified the abandoned brick pit as a potential site for a new racecourse in Sydney if the proposal to turn Rosehill into a mini-city of 25,000 homes proceeds.
While the masterplan does not mention the proposed new track, Racing NSW is continuing with feasibility work as part of the Rosehill plan.
“The proposal is being assessed under the government’s unsolicited proposals process,” a Minns government spokeswoman said.
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