In what could be the biggest cultural reinvigoration of Sydney since the Opera House went up 50 years ago, a plan has just been released to the public about a proposed major redevelopment of the Domain car park into a huge arts and theatre precinct on a scale Sydney has never seen before.
Pitched by London-based Grimshaw Architects to the likes of the City of Sydney council, Domain Trust, Royal Botanic Gardens and Committee for Sydney think tank, this grand proposal will see four new performance halls – including a 2,500 seat theatre – land in the space currently occupied by the Domain car park. Grimshaw’s vision will also likely see an Indigenous culture centre, a major lyric theatre for big musicals and a rehearsal space all emerge as halls that will be cut into the land that sits along Sir John Young Crescent.
On top of a major theatre development, this proposal would also mean the renewal of surrounding suburbs and streets in East Sydney, with Grimshaw also saying that it would mean a general refreshing of Woolloomooloo and surrounds with a new 24/7 hospitality precinct, updated and affordable social housing, and a series of commercial office towers. This will also mean a potential revamp of William Street, filling it with high rises and shops, as well as the introduction of new public open spaces, including a raised walkway and cycleway above the current old rail line that cuts through Woolloomooloo.
This proposal is yet to get any government endorsement and would cost an estimated $2 billion to complete. Reportedly, the massive cost would be tackled by a hypothetical rezoning of the surrounding area, with it also clear that this colossal project will likely (if it goes through) take years to finalise.
While speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Grimshaw’s managing partner, Andrew Cortese said; “We can’t have an under-utilised part of our city within a 500-metre distance of the centre of our CBD.”
“It is just us advocating for an idea…but the debate about it must begin now”, Cortese added.
Time, Sydney friends, shall only tell.