12 July 2013
The NSW Governments vision for dramatic new development over the rail corridor from Central to Eveleigh is a bold move that will require strong leadership from the State Government, says the Urban Taskforce.
This is very big scale thinking that turns underutilised public land into the next generation of development for housing and jobs for Sydney, says Urban Taskforce, CEO Chris Johnson. We applaud the governments confidence in the innovation that comes from the private sector. The complexities of building over an operating railway system means that new development will need to be very large and tall to cover the costs of construction.
The vision document illustrates very tall towers that will change the character of the southern end of the city. The government must champion this dramatic change as local action groups will almost certainly want to reduce the impact of new development.
The size of the project is so big that there is probably no single developer who could undertake the project. It will probably be necessary to break the project into reasonably sized sites before expressions of interest are called for at the end of the year.
A major benefit for local communities will be access over the railway lines that have been such a barrier for over a hundred years. The introduction of new parklands over the rail tracks will be a plus for existing residents.
