Harbour Mill in the news and school plans over ...

You may recall from earlier posts that the City of Sydney Council Depot under Harbour Mill was planned to became a new school. The NSW Government's Department of Education wanted to buy the land from the Council. This seemed like a good outcome for HM owners, because a school is better than most alternatives (other than a park, but who'll pay for that?).

This article from the SMH linked here says negotiations are now over:

"A department spokeswoman said it remained committed to building a new school in the area, but the city's position "did not reflect the value-for-money NSW taxpayers deserve".

"Despite detailed, ongoing discussions and several solid financial offers from the Department, City of Sydney refused to act reasonably in considering the educational needs of ratepayers' children in those areas," a department spokeswoman said.

"This attitude contrasts markedly with that of other local councils the Department has dealt with recently over the same issue; they have made every effort to provide land needed for schools."

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said education was a state responsibility and she was "very concerned" the government walked away from a deal that the council had expected to finalise on Tuesday.

"For many months, the City negotiated in good faith over the sale of the land so that the community would be provided with a new school," she said.

"The Minister for Education must now explain to the local community what plans he has to provide a new school in the area given the Fig and Wattle St site has been abandoned by the NSW government."

Ultimo Public School Parents and Citizens' Association spokesman Bill d'Anthes said both the council and the government had let down the community.

"I think both sides are being unreasonable," said Mr d'Anthes, who added that the second priority site on Harris Street had been sold since the negotiations began a year ago.

Mr d'Anthes said the community was concerned that the department could revert to the 2012 proposal to redevelop the existing school to create high-rise classrooms alongside apartments and shops."

In other news, the Herald on Saturday featured an article called "Flour Power" showing many flour mill developments around Sydney. International expert on mills, Nigel Grizzard, said, "Mills are often key buildings on the landscape, they represent the hard work of the past." The developer of HM, Ceerose, is quoted as saying, "It's a really distinctive design and people love the idea of helping to preserve history."

Here's the little extract from the article specifically on an apartment available in HM for $850,000. Interesting that they are spending almost a million dollars on public domain works, probably the connection to the light rail.

Don't expect it to look like this ...

Came across another computer-generated picture of the completed Harbour Mill, intending to show more of the space underneath the building than the design at the top of my blog.

Someone is dreaming of a better world. Don't get your hopes up.

It makes it look like there's a vast park at the bottom of the steps, under the sandstone cliff. Like we'll be living in an urban oasis of trees, beautiful paved areas and open space. Sorry folks, it will be nothing like this.

The steps will lead down to a narrow path that connects to the light rail platform, running alongside a wire fence, behind which is the Council Depot. The only paving will be a narrow strip to allow access to the lift. The train platform will not be unfenced as depicted here. The City of Sydney Council is not about to turn this land over to open space. They need the money. The best result is that it becomes a school, but that will not mean open public access.

The Landscape External Plan for the site says (for the path at the bottom of the stairs):

"Ashphalt pedestrian pathway with concrete edging along existing informal route with all due care to minimise impacts on vegetation."

That "existing informal route" is a dirt path about a metre wide. Nice try whoever did this. We're happy with the design and excited about the finished product but let's be realistic about expectations.

Bays Precinct International Summit next week

(Click on the article for an enlarged version).

Sydney is hosting the Bays Precinct International Summit next week. Unfortunately, only invited guests can attend, no members of the public. A Community Stakeholder Event will be held in February 2015, and you can register to receive updates on this link.

I hope they put ease of access, walking and cycling at the centre of design, not just making as much money as possible from developers.

This is part of their announcement:

The Bays Precinct Urban Renewal Program will be the largest urban renewal program 
in Sydney since the 2000 Olympics. It provides an opportunity to deliver significant 
transformation of Sydney’s inner harbour by creating new housing and recreation, 
tourism and retail places.

It has the potential to be a game-changer for the city of Sydney, and to set a new 
benchmark for what is possible in the regeneration of iconic urban destinations.

A transformational project of this scale and complexity must be conceived, designed 
and built by tapping into the greatest minds in the field of city building and urban 
renewal, and learning from the most outstanding examples of regeneration of other 
great cities and locations around the world. 

The deliberations of the two-day international summit will inform The Bays Precinct
Urban Renewal Program.

The international summit has been timed to coincide with the G20 Summit in Brisbane 
and is an opportunity to showcase, to the world, the potential of The Bays Precinct. 

I have placed a red cross where Harbour Mill is on this map of the Bays Precinct area in the newspaper article below, so we can see it will have a profound impact on us, hopefully for the better. If this really does become an 'iconic urban destination' and 'a new benchmark for urban transformation', then how good will it be living next to it. At the moment, most of Blackwattle Bay is a mess.

I have already seen other developments in the area, such as the nearby Pier99 apartments, promote the development of the Precinct as a major selling point.

Ok, you asked for it, a few more angles

Hi Lynne and Crystal

Thanks very much for your kind comments on my blog, it will be fun when HM is completed and we meet. I'm looking forward to a big 'house warming'.

Lynne, you asked for a view of the eastern side. It's not easy to get close because of the freeway, but this photo was taken yesterday, Thursday 6 November.

The white covering is over the old flour mill facade although I don't think it has been cleaned yet.

Here's a closer photo of the main atrium where the lifts will be, showing the steps and the big, wide entrance. It's actually a far wider entrance than I expected, and rather a grand space.

And finally, a photo taken from the city-bound platform, with a light rail train passing and the northern side of HM in the background. Great to be so close to transport, and in a few years, the light rail will run down George Street to Circular Quay, and through Surry Hills to Randwick for the university and hospital. Where better to live?

 

What will the internal atriums look like?

It's my understanding that Harbour Mill will have two large atriums - the main one where the four lifts are situated, which will be open on the east and west sides to allow ventilation.

Plus another in the four-storey part of the building, rising up to a glass ceiling, providing light into the more southerly part of the structure. This is the plan for that atrium. Very handsome (I think).

And those apartments on the lower level looking north will face the old flour mill, like this:

Since my apartment is not in that part of the building but I'm curious what it is like, I'm hoping to get a look inside one of those apartments some time.

Moving along well, work hard lads

Visited on Saturday 1 November and lots of banging and hammering going on. Here are a few photos from different angles.

First photo shows the western side of the building and good progress on the stairs that will link the upper level (on Jones Street) with the lower level of HM, and on down to the light rail station. A lot of the excavation work has been done and the staircase is in, next to the building.

To give a better relationship with the finished product, take a look at the artist's impression at the top of my blog to see how it steps down over several levels. Clever design, really. A lot more excavation work is still required because there will be a lift from the top level, stopping at the intermediate level, then down to the light rail platform, giving excellent wheelchair access.

Moving the camera to the left, capturing more of the 10-storey structure, you can see one of the atrium areas between the two sections of the building. It will be a large open gap. I like this feature as the middle of the building should feel bright and breezy, not dark as in some apartments. You can also see clearly where the stairs will be built down to the light rail platform.

Although the building is about six months from completion, you can see below that one of the apartments is quite advanced. This is on the first floor (although it looks like the ground floor, there is an apartment underneath it. The land slopes upwards from west to east). This is a two bedroom apartment and the left-hand opening is one bedroom, the next room along (with the panelling either side of a window) is the second bedroom, and the third room along is the balcony (generous size!) coming off the living area. You can see these apartments receive good dappled light from the sun in the morning (photo taken at about 9am), filtered by large trees which will remain after construction is completed.

And for those of you on the northern and western sides of the building, he's a shot for you. It's a surprisingly imposing structure considering it is 'only' 10 storeys, perhaps because it is at the top of the escarpment and you have to look up to it rather than alongside it.