3 days ago
More housing earmarked for Sydney Fish Market redevelopment site after planning control changes
Sydney could net more than 1,500 new homes from the redevelopment of the city's old fish market after the Minns government finalised changes to planning controls.
The site on Blackwattle Bay was already slated for 1,200 apartments as part of a mixed-used precinct, but the ABC can reveal the land has been rezoned to squeeze more housing from the project.
NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully said there would be less area for offices and more space for apartments.
The announcement comes as the proposal to turn Rosehill Racecourse, near Parramatta, into a "mini city" of 25,000 homes lies dead in the water.
On Tuesday, Australian Turf Club members voted against selling the track, in a major blow to the Minns government's push to address the state's housing shortage.
Mr Scully said the government was working on "other options" in lieu of its scuppered Rosehill plan.
The government will require 7.5 per cent of the homes on Blackwattle Bay to be kept "in perpetuity" for affordable housing.
But the location means the rest of the homes are likely to be priced too high for those on ordinary incomes.
The minister said the rezoning made no substantial changes to building height limits, which range from six to 36 storeys.
He said there would be no loss of open space under the modified plan, which includes a 1-hectare park at the southern pylon of the Anzac Bridge.
A promenade 30-metres wide will be built along the bay, linking Glebe Island Bridge and the new Sydney Fish Market.
The developers — Lendlease, Mirvac and Stockland — were shortlisted late last year to carry out the urban renewal.
The companies are due to submit their proposals in July, with the first new homes expected to be built by 2028.
The units will be a short stroll from the proposed metro station at Pyrmont, but the first residents will have to wait several years to ride it.
The Metro West to Parramatta is not set to open until 2032.
"The homes will come slightly in front of the Metro, but it's in a really well-located part of Sydney with access to transport, and access to jobs," Mr Scully said.
