Central Park stages accelerated to keep up with demand

Joint venture developers Frasers Property Australia and Sekisui House Australia have fast-tracked the final two residential stages at Central Park and will soon release another 500 apartments to the market to keep pace with demand.

Fraser’s CEO Guy Pahor said the joint venture was constructing 1,400 apartments as part of the first residential stage of Central Park. He said the success of apartment sales had prompted an acceleration of the next residential stages within the 5.8 hectare mixed-use precinct.

“Frasers, and our joint venture partners, Sekisui House Australia, are delivering on the vision of Central Park and rapidly transforming this previously inaccessible part of Sydney into a vibrant mixed-use development and stitching it back to the surrounding communities,” he said.

The concept designs of Smart Design Studio and Francis-Jones Morehen-Thorp (fjmt) were selected following a design competition for the next two residential stages within Central Park. This was required under the 2009 concept plan approval for Central Park to ensure continuing design excellence at the precinct. Architects so far have been Foster + Partners, Ateliers Jean Nouvel and Johnson Pilton Walker.

A design review panel was formed to oversee the submissions, with members including Frasers’ Pahor, Lucy Turnbull, an independent member of the Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority, and Chris Johnson, chief executive of the Urban Taskforce.

The panel nominated the architects and a preferred concept scheme for each site. This was then submitted to the NSW Department of Planning & Infrastructure for ratification.

The Smart-designed building will be the first residential building to be developed on the Abercrombie Street edge of Central Park and will include 180 apartments.

William Smart, of Smart Design Studio, said:  “Our design intent was to create a link between Chippendale and the southern edge of the Sydney CBD. We wanted to create a building that offered privacy to its occupants and beauty to passersby.

‘’Lessons borrowed from nature inform the thinking on the façade. The rippled surface of water inspired the exploration of a lenticular façade, and louvres, used in an artful way, provide the privacy required and control the light, creating movement across the façade and an ever changing character.”

The site of the fjmt-designed building is bordered by O’Connor and Wellington streets on the Chippendale edge of the Central Park precinct.  This building, which is not part of the joint venture with Sekisui, will be independently developed by Frasers and will include 320 apartments in a long, sinuous building along Wellington Street.

Richard Francis-Jones, design director of fjmt, said: “Our design for this important part of Central Park introduces a curvilinear and fluid architecture. It will create additional landscaped parkland and apartments opening out to views and natural light. These will be wonderful places to live.”

More than 1200 apartments have been sold and about 400 apartments settled, with a further 1,000 settlements due later this year and into 2014, Parhor said.

“Next year will see development accelerating further – not only on the residential front but also on other phases of the development – with commencement of the commercial precinct, student housing and the refurbishment of historic Kensington Street - all scheduled to start next year.”

Recently, Frasers invited the local community, as well as community groups, UTS and University of Notre Dame to join William Smart on a site tour and to discuss his proposed design.

The local community will also be asked to comment on fjmt’s evolving design on the Wellington Street building.

World-class architecture, design, landscape and urban planning are core principles of Frasers’ and Sekisui House’s vision for Central Park.