City of Sydney’s Town Hall Square project delayed again

The construction of a grand public square opposite Sydney Town Hall, first envisaged in the 1980s, has again been delayed by the City of Sydney and won’t begin until the second half of the 2030s.

Councillors received advice from staff on Monday to extend commercial and retail leases in the precinct until 2035, to give it more time to buy the required properties, bank savings and secure financial contributions from the state or federal governments.

An artist’s impression of the future Town Hall Square, which will not start construction until at least 2035.

Ever since former lord mayor Doug Sutherland devised the plan 50 years ago, the council has planned to demolish the block opposite Sydney Town Hall between George and Pitt Streets to construct a civic square.

In 2019, while campaigning against a 183-metre tall tower proposed for Cockle Bay Wharf that would cast a shadow over the planned square, Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the vision “will be realised over the next 10 years”.

Then in 2020, the council gave Woolworths a lease until December 2030. But on Monday Moore accepted there was little chance the wrecking ball would go in before 2035. “These are all city building projects, and they take time,” she said.

The council’s chief executive Monica Barone forecast an even longer wait. “We’re not saying that it will happen then [in 2035], we’re saying it will happen after then,” she said.

The block containing Woolworths and Big W would be demolished for a public square under long-held City of Sydney plans.Credit: Louise Kennerley

Council papers estimate construction for Town Hall Square will cost well over $200 million. It has already spent tens of millions buying up other properties on the block – with more still to acquire.

“The council has put an awful lot of money into Town Hall Square,” Barone said. “It’s probably the biggest project we’ve ever envisaged.”

Terminating the leases – such as Woolworths, which occupies the north-west corner of the block – would also significantly reduce the council’s income, hence its desire to extend the leases until the latest possible moment.

All leases beyond July 1, 2035, will contain a “demolition” clause allowing the City to take early possession of the property with 12 months’ notice. The council will also allocate the increased rental revenue to a specific reserve fund for the construction costs of the future Town Hall Square.

An artist’s impression of Town Hall Square, looking west to Town Hall.

Labor councillor Linda Scott said 2035 was “a very long time” and asked if the council had spoken with the new Labor state government about whether it might contribute financially to the project.

Moore said she lobbied strongly for the previous NSW government to contribute, but didn’t get anywhere. “I think the new governments in NSW and Canberra think they have enough on their plate and are not so interested in this particular project,” she said.

But Moore agreed to have a further conversation with the Minns government about its plans for Town Hall station before council votes on the matter at the next meeting.

The City will also commit $35 million to revitalise the space between Town Hall and St Andrew’s Cathedral and school, called Sydney Square, which is planned for 2027.

It will develop a concept design for the square with St Andrew’s House Corporation (which has a lease on the land until 2030), the school, church and wider community.

In the council’s 2050 vision for the city, Town Hall Square complements two other civic plazas at Central Station and Circular Quay, the latter of which would require demolishing the Cahill Expressway.

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