Lend Lease’s Renzo Piano towers a step closer at Barangaroo
Lend Lease has cleared the final hurdle it needs to build three Renzo Piano-designed luxury apartment towers at Sydney’s Barangaroo by agreeing to provide more affordable housing and more open space at Barangaroo South.
In a decision handed down by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission, the development giant was given the green light to proceed with the final slab of its Barangaroo South project, providing it beefs up its affordable housing contribution to about 3% of the precinct’s total floorspace.
In a new concession, the developer will now have to provide about 64 units for key worker housing, better known as affordable housing stock, for essential workers such as teachers, nurses, policemen and other essential professions.
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Lend Lease had originally agreed to dedicate 2.3% of the gross floor space as affordable housing, but was required in the latest determination to add another 0.7%, equating to an extra 25 units, which the group can build either on-site or within 5km of Barangaroo.
The towers have been billed as in contention for the city’s most exclusive address
“The significant uplift (in floorspace) justifies a commensurate response in public benefits across a range of matters not only to be realised through offsite measures and economic contributions,” documents from the assessment commission read.
“After careful consideration of a wide range of issues … the Commission is now satisfied that this proposal can proceed.”
Lend Lease has completed two luxury apartment developments, a major commercial development and a retail precinct at Barangaroo South. All have performed strongly in leasing markets and off-the-plan sales campaigns.
However, a set of three sculptural apartment towers known as One Sydney Harbour by Renzo Piano, a Pritzker Prize winner, is the most anticipated element of the design.
The latest approval means the group can lodge a development application for the towers. Marketing and a sales campaign are expected to begin this year, at a time when luxury apartment demand across the city is emerging as one of the residential market’s most resilient sub-sectors.
After careful consideration of a wide range of issues … the Commission is now satisfied that this proposal can proceed
Barangaroo South managing director Andrew Wilson says: “We are pleased that a decision has been announced today. We look forward to continuing to work with the state government to complete this globally significant project for Sydney.”
Described by the architect as “three buildings with a gentle presence in the cityscape and in dialogue with the harbour waters and Barangaroo waterfront”, the towers have been billed as in contention for the city’s most exclusive address.
Other conditions include a slight reconfiguration and expansion of Hickson Park, which sits at the base of the towers, but the developer says the changes will not affect the towers’ overall footprint.
