Findings made by not-for-profit partnership Business Improvement District (BID) anticipates that once fully complete, Sydney’s revitalised seven-kilometre stretch of western waterfront will generate up to $6.2 billion for the harbour city economy.

Spanning Walsh Bay to Blackwattle Bay, the area has already generated a retail turnover of $4.1 billion. The findings have been published in Turnover Report, a document created by BID, New Sydney Waterfront Company and Colliers, which aims to bring together businesses, developers and the community to work towards a common goal of capitalising on the projected $12 billion worth of investment.

“For the first time, all the stakeholders in a key city precinct have a robust performance baseline and real 10-year upside target, which we can now pursue together,” says New Sydney Waterfront Company CEO Jace Tyrell.

“We have a million square metres of new and refurbished space ready to be activated and enhanced, and we have 50 businesses already on board and committed to transforming Sydney’s waterfront together.”

Mirvac’s $2 billion reinvigoration of Harbourside (pictured top), designed by Snohetta and Hassell will form part of the economic injection. The 166-metre tower will feature a five-storey shopping centre comprising retail and commercial space, as well as 350 apartments, with entertainment and recreation spaces also planned.

GPT and its partners are also working on the redevelopment of Cockle Bay, which sits opposite Harbourside. The plans include a $891 million landmark mixed-use tower development, new restaurants and public areas.

cockle bay park

The 73,000 sqm stretch of land at Cockle Bay Park (pictured above) is another project on the western waterfront that will further energise the area. Henning Larsen’s design, which has been developed in consultation with Architectus, includes a 183-metre state-of-the-art commercial office tower atop a 10,000 square metre public realm in the heart of Sydney. The project includes a retail precinct, of which Henning Larsen has sought to bring a richness of scale and material texture to the podium.

“We had a strong vision of bringing Sydney back to that part of the harbour, creating a destination for people (not tourists, but really Sydney locals) that we feel doesn't really exist there at the moment,” Henning Larsen Design Director says Viggo Haremst in a 2022 interview with Architecture & Design.

“With this focus in mind, our approach was almost more of an urban planning exercise, geared towards creating paths and journeys through the large public park and the podium, which also contains restaurants and shops. But of course, the urban experience isn’t just down to space and buildings – it is strongly affected by climate.”

3XN’s renewal of the Sydney Fish Markets features 12,000 sqm of new retail space, which the Markets hope will double yearly visitation. The state government-funded project will see the facility become the largest working seafood market in the southern hemisphere.

For more information regarding the report, click here.

Jarrod Reedie

Billion-dollar-boost-Sydney-western-harbourfront-1732010319.png

Let’s connect!