New $1.5b vision for Entertainment Quarter unveiled
Businessmen Gerry Harvey and John Singleton have put forward a $1.5 billion plan to turn Moore Park’s Entertainment Quarter into a destination to rival Barangaroo. SEE THE PICS HERE
NSW
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The Entertainment Quarter at Moore Park is set to be rejuvenated under a $1.5 billion masterplan to transform the site into a mix of open space, retail shops and leisure facilities.
The plan includes four hectares of interconnected parks, a fresh food market, restaurants, cafes, bars, a large 20m wide pedestrian boulevard for holding street food markets, festivals and events and a 180 room 4.5 star hotel.
The cinema complex will be redone, a community vegetable garden installed and the Showring updated, with the entire precinct designed to support up to 8,000 jobs in the hospitality and creative industries.
The unsolicited proposal to refresh the 11 hectare site next to the Sydney Cricket Ground was submitted to the state government today by the owners of the Entertainment Quarter, Carsingha Investments Pty Ltd.
The consortium led by retail king Gerry Harvey, advertising guru John Singleton and venture capitalist Mark Carnegie will fund the entire $1.5 billion development if it receives government approval. The trio bought a 30 year lease to the site in 2014 for $80 million and are hoping the government will grant them a 99 year lease – similar to the leasing arrangement Lendlease has with the government at Barangaroo.
Entertainment Quarter CEO Guy Pahor said the proposed development could generate around $1 billion in economic activity each year.
He said 400 locals along with more than 1000 Sydneysiders had been consulted over the past 18 months to develop the plan, which will focus on reconnecting the Entertainment Quarter to the local community with open space and the CBD via the new Light Rail.
“Key to the success of these social spaces and the food and dining precinct will be people – without a critical mass of people during the day and at night eve the best designed public spaces will fail,” Mr Pahor said.
“Our plans include a vision of the Entertainment Quarter as a new employment hub for creative industries – reinforcing the adjacent Fox Studios enterprise.”
The $1.5 billion plan does not include residential uses, which were ruled out early in the planning stages as not being consistent with the proposed focus on leisure, events and entertainment.
All buildings on the site will be no higher than the roof of the new Sydney Football Stadium (which will be roughly 10 storeys), apart from the new cinema and creative industries office tower in the centre of the site, which will be roughly the same height as the SCG light towers.
Mr Pahor said parks and public spaces will take centre stage in the renewed Entertainment Quarter.
“The Showring will also be rejuvenated as a multifunctional public space – accommodating community and other sporting events such as jazz concerts and other performances, similar to the much loved summer twilight concert series at Taronga Zoo,” he said.
A Department of Premier and Cabinet steering committee will now examine the commercial, technical and legal aspects of the unsolicited proposal in more detail before making a recommendation to government on whether or not to proceed to the next step in the process.
Developer Carsingha will be required to obtain all the necessary planning and environment approvals for the project, which is separate to the unsolicited proposal vetting process.
Sydney Business Chamber executive director Katherine O’Regan said Sydney desperately needs another eat street in this area, and somewhere people can hang out after the footy or a concert.
“This very tired precinct promised so much decades ago and is desperately in need of a new life. It’s a rare opportunity to create a vibrant new entertainment and dining district right on the edge of the CBD for both locals and tourists,” she said.
“As well as adding more public open space and amenities, the proposal provides a place for business to flourish, boosting the attraction for creative industries like media, fashion, graphic arts and tech businesses.”
