Weekend 'ghost town' North Sydney set to be given new life
Cranes are dotting the skyline in North Sydney’s CBD, with a significant number of developments and strong sales pointing to residential interest in the area once again.
After almost a decade of very minimal residential development, there is now a strong supply of residential apartments coming online, said Duncan Grady, principal of Raine & Horne North Sydney.
“Buyer interest in these new developments has been exceptional, with all projects nearly fully sold before completion,” said Grady.
He pointed to developments such as The Montrose, Skye Apartments, The London, Atria, The Heritage and Belvedere as examples of what is being built in the area.
Grady expressed his confidence that these developments would breathe ‘new life’ into the area after-hours. Anyone familiar with North Sydney will be able to attest to its busy atmosphere during the working week, but its very quiet nature over the weekend.
“Take a walk around North Sydney between 9am and 5pm on Monday to Friday and it’s full of activity, however it’s more like a ghost town after work and on weekends, which seems a massive waste given our proximity to Sydney and the harbour,” said Grady. This is emphasized by the fact that the local shopping centre, Greenwood, is completely closed on Sundays and shuts early on Saturdays. In fact, even Wikitravel notes that the area is "notoriously" quiet on weekends.
“With an estimated two residents per apartment, we expect to have at least two thousand new residents living in North Sydney very soon,” he said.
His thoughts are that these residents will be young professionals working in the area, and with the busy nature of the North Sydney train station, it's likely that this could be an attractive option, with close connections to the city, Luna Park and other amusements as well as vibrant work-night local watering holes.
However, developments such as The Heritage are attempting to attract a downsizing demographic, featuring 23 three- and four-bedroom apartments and penthouse apartments, with prices start from $1.425 million.
Whether North Sydney will be able to re-emerge as an after-5pm destination over the weekends is yet to be seen.
The median price for units in North Sydney is $595,000 with a median asking rent of $508, according to RP Data. In September, a $400 million office tower was also slated for the area, planning to be a 'new heart'.