Central Station is something of a cocoon at present. Barriers and wooden sidings hide the works underway to create the new Metro areas of the station, including the creation of a new 80-metre tunnel connecting Chalmers Street to the Metro platforms, with a few tantalising areas of this imminently-emergent butterfly visible to commuters in a few quieter corners. But it’s not just the Metro extensions that will be transforming Sydney’s largest rail hub in the coming months.
The northern edge of Central Station, by Eddy Avenue and Eddy Avenue Plaza, is currently home to convenience stores and tacky souvenir shops, but under plans just released by the NSW Government, the stretch of the station adjacent to the light rail lines will be transformed into a new hospo and entertainment destination. Dubbed ‘Eddy’, it will feature art installations, restaurants, bars and shops. This major glow-up, which will also include a new cinema, radio station and ceramics studio, is one of several major development works aimed at revitilising the CBD and its surrounding areas, including the pedestrianisation of George Street and the new three-billion dollar tech park being created in Chippendale.
The transformation of Eddy is expected to take just over a year, with works completed by July 2023.