Museum move paves way for Powerhouse site redevelopment
Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum in a fast-gentrifying pocket of Ultimo has emerged as the latest site headed for sale, following a state government decision to relocate the museum to Parramatta.
NSW Premier Mike Baird announced the prominent museum, located within a restored power station, would be moved to a new, purpose-built site on the Parramatta riverfront currently occupied by a David Jones carpark.
The state government plans to offload the Ultimo site, with a design scheme in place for a mixed-use development, with the proceeds to be funnelled into developing the new museum as a state-of-the-art hub for applied arts and sciences.
“It will be a site that will be an opportunity to create something great again,” Baird says.
It will be done within the planning constraints and again I think there is an opportunity to make something great there
“We are certainly open to how that site is used. I envisage multi-use in many ways, but obviously we need to go through the appropriate planning processes and look at the best way.”
Located on the fringe of Darling Harbour and within metres of a new wing of the University of Technology, Sydney and a public square known as The Goods Line, the museum is a high-profile addition to the state government’s list of major property assets for sale.
It sits at the heart of a former industrial pocket that is quickly giving way to residential development with the likes of Lendlease and AuswinTWT, which both have major holdings in the area.
“It will be done within the planning constraints and again I think there is an opportunity to make something great there,” Baird says.
