Towers to dominate inner city foreshores

Buildings up to 22 storeys high and a waterfront park are planned for the White Bay area adjacent to historic Balmain while just across Sydney Harbour, the final stage of Barangaroo is unveiled.

Plans for the first stage of the former White Bay Power Station site in inner Sydney have been leaked to the SMH showing towers between 12 and 22 storeys are planned to stand close to the Anzac Bridge ramps amid a two-hectare park on the foreshore.

This will form part of a 77-hectare area to be known as Bays West that will be home to 10 different precincts across the White Bay Power Station site, Rozelle rail yards and Rozelle Bay East. The SMH revealed planning documents that show construction of a metro train station, part of the Metro West rail line, which is due to begin construction in early 2025 and completed by the end of 2027.

The draft master plan of stage one of Bays West is due to be released in a matter of weeks. The site will be larger than all three stages of Barangaroo which lies on the opposite foreshore. On the same day as the White Bay plans came to light, developer Aqualand unveiled its plans for the 5.2-hectare final stage of Barangaroo on the edge of Sydney’s CBD.

The plans for the $2.5 billion project include a proposed 21-storey and a two-acre waterfront park are about to be put on display by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. Further inclusions listed are campus-style offices, apartments, alleyways, shops, cafes and restaurants, cultural venues and a metro station under the tower, according to SMH.

Image: Work at the White Bay site at the end of 2021. Source: NSW Govt.

About the author

Desi Corbett

Desi is the Editor of Concrete in Australia and at the helm of our magazine for 8 years. She was behind the Institute's weekly news bulletins from 2016-2021 and is now writing our focused news items. Desi has been an engineering news and features journalist/editor across all disciplines since 2013 - part of a 30-year career writing for a wide range of industries.