HPG Australia reaches negotiated settlement with City of Sydney Council on landmark court case
Property developer, HPG Australia (HPG) has reached a mutually acceptable agreement with the City of Sydney Council in the NSW Land and Environment Court with the outcome allowing the developer to proceed with its $700 million mixed-use development, One Sydney Park.
The talked about development, at 205-225 Euston Road in Alexandria, essentially within the 44-hectare Sydney Park was originally approved by the City’s Central Sydney Planning Committee in 2017, however the City of Sydney had rejected the scheme in 2020 stating that it would negatively impact on Sydney Park and that it felt the detailed plans “differed greatly” from the original concept.
Designed by MHN Design Union (MHNDU), Silvester Fuller (SF) and Sue Barnsley Design, with interiors curated by Tracy Wiles - previously head of interiors with Make Architects - the One Sydney Park project, to be built on the south-eastern edge of Sydney Park, on land formerly owned by Goodman, was previously intended to house 390 apartments and a range of commercial and cultural uses across eight, six-storey buildings.
HPG appealed the decision on the grounds that the detailed designs for the site complied with Council’s planning parameters and met all the recommendations set by the City’s own design competition panel, who had unanimously endorsed the MHNDU + SF & Sue Barnsley submission.
The latest version of the proposal, submitted to both the NSW Land and Environment Court and the City of Sydney, reduced the number of apartments to 356.
The building mass is pushed back from the park and the perceived overall height of the buildings is decreased with planting and landscape screening the upper levels.
There is also a “greatly increased” setback to the upper levels of each park-side building, with the greatest setback achieved in the northern most park-side building, “where visual sensitivity is at its highest.”
The architects stated in the proposal that their vision is to create a place that resonates and extends the ecology of the adjoining parkland.
“A blurring of the boundary between built form and the park landscape is achieved by dissolving the built edges of the apartment buildings fronting the park,” the architects note.
“Where adjacent to the parklands, or visible above the existing trees, the building form takes on a deliberately de-materialised quality. The mass of the building is intentionally blurred, emulating the character of the surrounding tree canopies.”
Primely positioned bordering the iconic Sydney Park, the third largest park in inner-city Sydney, One Sydney Park, the first limited release of apartments was launched to the market in March 2018, attracting strong interest from buyers and generated record sales for the suburb.
Development Director for HPG Australia Barney Oros expected to appoint a construction company and commence site works before the end of the year.
“We have deliberately stayed under the radar since launch and the Court process commenced, but now that we have planning certainty we are looking forward to communicating with the wider community the significant benefits we will be bringing to a disused industrial park,” he said.
“Obviously the architecture and landscaping is world class but the ecological benefits, introduction of deep soil into the site, long overdue amenities to this neglected southern end of Sydney Park for the public are all part of our vision for One Sydney Park,” Oros said.
HPG has also announced a collaboration with world renown Japanese artist, Fujiko Nakaya who will be engaged to deliver a public art installation unlike any other in Sydney. Having gained international acclaim for her work with ephemeral fog sculptures, the proposed public art will provide a sensory transition between Sydney Park and the public plaza within the development.
