The NSW government has announced an “ambitious” plan to build a retail and office precinct over Central Station’s railway yard in Sydney, with retailers praising efforts to revive CBD foot fall.
The major plan for Sydney’s Central Station is expected to deliver a retail, eatery and housing destination, featuring a public square and parkland, office space and new city connections.
National Retail Association (NRA) CEO Dominique Lamb said the precinct is an opportunity for NSW businesses, workers and consumers to leave the pandemic behind.
“The city-shaping vision for central station will greatly revitalise CBD businesses by increasing consumer buying behaviour and pushing people back into their offices,” Lamb said.
“It is hard to shake off the work-from-home mentality we’ve grown accustomed to for the past couple of years, but we need to move forward and motivate people back into their offices and back into the CBD.
“The initiative will increase productivity, reduce anti-social work behaviour induced during the pandemic, as well as boost economic prospects."
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the NSW Government’s vision for Central Station is a “once in a generation opportunity.”
“This proposal will be another major investment into the future of the Sydney CBD,” Perrottet said.
“Our vision will convert Central precinct into a must-visit part of our city for locals as well as for domestic and international tourists.
“It will be a major job generating project and will inject further local and global business investment into the Sydney CBD.”
Minister for Infrastructure, Cities and Active Transport Rob Stokes said the vision will extend the southern CBD and use Sydney’s transport assets to shape almost 24 hectares of empty space.
“This proposal will heal parts of our city that have been torn apart since the railway divided Surry Hills from Ultimo back in 1874,” Stokes said.
“The proposal includes multiple new over-rail connections including Devonshire Street bridge, to enhance pedestrian and bicycle access through Central Precinct and to surrounding neighbourhoods.
“The masterplan celebrates the heritage of the precinct while also offering a grand new public square, three new parks, new community, social services hubs as well as at least 30 percent of affordable and diverse housing to better meet the needs of all sections of the community.”
The major plan comes as businesses across Australia note increased foot traffic within Australia’s CBDs, particularly in the hardest affected CBDs of Sydney and Melbourne, which faced lockdowns over the pandemic.
Super Retail Group, the parent company for Rebel, noted a recovery in foot traffic in CBD and large shopping mall locations. This supported like-for-like sales growth of 0.5% for Rebel in the second half of the year.
Super Retail Group CEO Anthony Heraghty said bricks-and-mortar stores continued to be a key driver of sales and traffic.
"The value of our store network was further demonstrated in FY22, even as online sales increased to a record 17 per cent of sales," he noted in the FY22 annual report.
"Our store network remains fundamental to the shopping preferences of our customers. More than nine in every ten transactions involved our store network, through either over-the-counter sales or Click & Collect."
Key features of the Central Station indicative masterplan include:
~15 new buildings ranging from 4 to 34 storeys for a range of uses including tech and office space, hotel and residential, bars, restaurants and cafes, education, community and cultural uses.
>60,000 sq m (just over six football fields) of public domain including parks, squares, plazas including Central Square, Central Green and Mortuary Station Garden.
~850 new dwellings, including 15 per cent affordable housing and an additional target of 15 per cent diverse housing types such as build to rent and student dwellings.
A rezoning package to enable the transformation of the Central precinct is now on public exhibition.
The community will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposal from August 22 to September 19.