The heart of Sydney’s well-healed eastern suburbs, Double Bay is about to get $600 million worth of development that will see nearly 1800 new apartments built in the suburb’s commercial centre that encompasses the commercial areas bounded by Knox and Cross Streets.
A Chinese-backed consortium recently bought the neighbouring Bay Village and plans to build 21 apartments on the site, while another $100 million of the Double Bay development will go to residences that will be targeted to Sydney downsizers
Not even carparks will be left out of the redevelopment proposal, with 100 new apartments and a cinema slated for one of Double Bay’s busiest carparking areas, located just behind the main shopping area of Knox street.
According to the chair of the Double Bay and Districts Business Chamber Katherine O’Regan, the mix of development is what is of prime importance here, rather than exactly how much redevelopment there will be in the end.
“I welcome an element of residential development but there really needs to be a good mix of retail and business — not just the amount but also the type,” she was quoted in the Daily Telegraph.
The eight sites being redeveloped across Double Bay all include a retail and/or commercial component say sources close to the both Woollahra council and the developers.
Woollahra mayor Peter Cavanagh said the council will be helping to facilitate a wide range of retail and other commercial businesses, and says it is determined to include ample parking for both.
“This is an exciting time for Double Bay with a number of projects coming up which will help revitalise Sydney’s best bayside village,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
According to a council spokesperson, there are also plans for a range of street upgrades along Knox Street, just off New South Head Road, as well as plans to “upgraded lighting surrounding the Cenotaph in Steyne Park and new uplights on a significant Moreton Bay Fig tree near the waterfront."
