At least 150-200 apartments will be reserved for affordable
housing and several historic buildings will be retained, to be used for a
mixture of commercial and residential purposes. Mr Sartor said the $550 million
revamp would also bring up to 3270 permanent jobs in cultural, commercial and
retail roles.
“North Eveleigh is one of Sydney’s most important urban renewal
projects,” Mr Sartor said. “We are working to transform surplus rail
land into a vibrant cultural, residential and commercial hub.”
Funds raised from selling off the land will be used to
upgrade Redfern station and improve bicycle links between Redfern, Australian Technology
Park and North
Eveleigh.
The plan allows for significant changes by developers
further down the track which would be decided at the “project application
stage” according to the plan.
A university may possibly express interest in the floor
space at North Eveleigh.
This would most likely be the University
of Sydney, which is continuing its expansion
into adjacent Darlington.
Geoff Turnbull
from community group RED-Watch said the plan was vague about the final look and
greenness of the site, and left the final development open to developer interpretation.
Mr Turnbull criticised the traffic study compiled for the concept plan.
“We find the exclusion of the Lawson Street and Gibson Street intersection [Darlington] perplexing given that it’s from these lights
that traffic backing into Abercrombie
Street originates,” he said.
Source:
Courier 14 May 2008