Location of Harbour Mill

There are many things that I really like about the location of Harbour Mill, especially that it is close to Tumbalong Park, Wentworth Park, Darling Harbour, the Fish Market, and the city is just minutes away on foot.

 

Crane arrived, things are moving up in the world

As we approached the building we could see the crane, and then we knew that proper building work had started.

We chatted to one of the workmen on the site, and he said that things were going well and that building had started on some of it, and that there was still a bit of digging to do, but it was scheduled to be finished on time.


                       

At the moment they are focussing on the northern end of the building where the facade is, so that they can attach the facade to the rest of the building. I am guessing that the black rectangular box you can see in this photo will be the lift well.

What's down below at the moment?

Harbour Mill is being built on an escarpment or cliff in Pyrmont, overlooking Wentworth Park and further on to Glebe. The old weighing station still exists next to the train line, and I hope this becomes completely restored to help give Harbour Mill its historical context. You can still see the old shed on top of the remains of the old mill, which should also be restored.

The light rail goes past the bottom of Harbour Mill and there will be a direct link between Wentworth Park station and the building. Here is what it looks like from below at the moment.

30th July, the hole is getting deeper

We next visited on 30th July 2013. There were a lot of diggers on the site and a lot of progress had been made. They had discovered that the sandstone was good quality, so rather than throwing it away, chose to reuse it, and were turning it into blocks. You can see in this first photo that one of the diggers has a cutting blade.

How the new and old will tie together

The new building will be built inside the remains of the old flour mill at the northern end of the building. Anyone living in these apartments will look at the old wall of the mill, plus have windows cut in the wall so they can see out. The old and the new will be tied together, like this:

Construction starts in June 2013

On 18th July, 2013 we visited the building site for the first time. That was when the reality, nerves and excitement, really hit me properly.

There wasn't much to see, as they had only just begun to dig. Lots of men in hard hats, and machines like bulldozers, as well as sandstone and dust everywhere, but not much else.

This photo was taken from Jones Street.

My beginning - June 2013

In June 2013, my family bought an apartment off-the-plan in Harbour Mill, at 280 Jones Street, Pyrmont. I love the location. It is a short walk over the pedestrian bridge at Harris Street to the city and Darling Harbour; it has direct lift access to the Wentworth Park light rail stop; it is next to the fish markets; and there is a great row of cafes and shops a short stroll away.

It is due for completion at the end of 2014, and this blog will share my journey with you as I watch the massive hole being dug for the basement car parks, and then see the 10-storey building grow.

Here is what the finished building will look like:

You can see the bottom left 'facade' of four stories is the old flour mill, which gives the building its historical presence, and will remain in place on completion. The additional 10-story building steps up and over the small section.

What makes this building extra special is that it sits alone on an escarpment in Pyrmont, overlooking Wentworth Park and Glebe, and it is not buried and invisible among many other city apartments.

It will become unique and stand out from the crowd.