Workmen have begun pulling down the main building and a
200-tonne crane will arrive soon to knock down the chimney stack, in the first
step towards creating a civic square as big as Martin Place, bordered with supermarkets
and shops.
Situated at the intersection of Botany Road, and O’Riordan
and Bourke streets, the town centre – now just a bunch of car yards and
industrial buildings – will service a number of apartment developments that
have sprung up around the Green Square railway station.
The project, a joint venture between the City of Sydney and Landcom, is part of 278 hectares of land
earmarked by the NSW Government for urban renewal, one of the largest such
projects in Australia
and the last area close to the city suitable for expansion.
Along with Zetland, Beaconsfield
and parts of Alexandria, Rosebery and Waterloo have been
targeted for high-density developments that will house more than 33,000 people
by 2021.
Landcom’s shortlist of six companies and consortiums to complete
the first stage of the town centre comprises Lend Lease, Citta/Babcock &
Brown, CRI/Colonial First State, Mirvac, ISPT and Leighton Properties/Devine,
said the NSW Planning Minister, Frank Sartor.
Stage one, or about 50 per cent of the total gross floor
area of the town centre, will include a mix of residential, retail and
commercial space.
“When completed, the Green Square town centre project will
provide 2500 homes located close to existing transport infrastructure and $3.2
billion worth of investment,” Mr Sartor said.
Green Square
has a long industrial history but as the factories moved west, developers moved
in, hoping the train and bus services and the proximity to the city centre and
eastern suburbs would attract well-heeled tenants to their expensive
apartments.
The area still lacks its own shopping district and community
facilities and has been called a ghost town by some.
However, by 2025, the town centre is expected to house about
5500 residents and 7000 workers.
It will also have a network of plazas and parks, decorated
with water features and public art, that will be able to host markets, concerts
and festivals.
It will take about six months to demolish the main
incinerator building, the chimney stack, a number of underground pits and all other
associated plant, equipment and structures, Landcom says.
The development is close to Green Square station, part of the
controversial 10-kilometre Airport Rail Link of four privately owned stations,
where fares are considerably more expensive than for government-run lines.
Photo: How it will look … an artist’s impression of how
the Green Square
town centre will look after the $1.7 billion redevelopment. It will be as big
as Martin Place.
www.smh.com.au/news/national/blowing-waterloos-stack-for-green-square/2007/12/31/1198949746503.html