How NewLife Darling Harbour brings to life the site’s location

According to historians, no suburb has contributed as much to the economy and amenity of Sydney as Pyrmont-Ultimo. It embodies the seeds of this nation’s industrial success since the late 1800s.
How NewLife Darling Harbour brings to life the site’s location
Looking out from the NewLife residences on Harris Street. Image supplied
Alison Warters April 6, 2022

New Life Darling Harbour residences have a unique setting within Ultimo’s rich and significant history. Pyrmont-Ultimo was once the most important industrial suburb in Sydney powering NSW into the 20th Century

The history of Ultimo is very much connected to the Harris family, the dominant landowners in the area for over 100 years who gave Harris Street its name. In the 1800s, they built the substantial villa “Littlebridge” here.

As a building boom hit in the 1870s, rows of terraced houses, worker cottages, factories, breweries, foundries and warehouses increasingly dominated the landscape. In 1938, the aroma of tea and coffee filled the air when iconic Australian tea company Bushells acquired the land for a tea warehouse, coffee grinding and roasting facility.

In the 1960s, the Harris Street premises became the TAB’s headquarters and nerve centre of a rapidly expanding betting business. It became one of the largest employers of women in the state, operating a complex system of telephones connecting, recording, and tallying accounts between hundreds of metropolitan and country TAB branches and racecourses.

According to historians, no suburb has contributed as much to the economy and amenity of Sydney as Pyrmont-Ultimo. It embodies the seeds of this nation’s industrial success since the late 1800s.

Few places enchant with such diversity and sophistication as Sydney. From hawker-style diners to hatted restaurants, it’s a city that has it all, and New Life is in the heart of it.

While the residences deliver high-quality amenity, a focus was still placed on life outside, within the community.

NewLife Darling Harbour’s principal architect, Brendan Randles, lead the team that drove the innovative and artful city development saying,

“Quality of life is important to us. What is happening outside our homes is as important as what is offered inside. We want local environments to thrive alongside the people and communities who live there.”

“We take locations and transform them. We work with local communities, councils and stakeholders to create vibrant environments. We collaborate with the best professionals and most creative industry minds to bring new life to every project,” he added.

The Architectus designed residences pay homage to the site’s semi-industrial history, delivering a collection of 200 apartments, with a range of single-storey one, two and three-bedroom apartments, two-level terrace apartments and penthouses.

The nine-storey building has a limited selection of two-bedroom apartments still remaining within the fully-completed residential development.

Alison Warters

Alison Warters is a property journalist for Urban, based in Sydney. Alison is especially interested in the evolution of the New Build/Development space, when it comes to design innovation and sustainability.

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