With almost all of the Harold Park development due to be finished this year, a quick reminder of what will be involved may be useful.

The Tramsheds
For local residents this will be the stage that has most impact, apart from the open space (which will be opened late this year). There is no official opening date for the Tramsheds, but newspaper reports, mainly originating from prospective restaurateurs, have nominated ‘early 2016’. This is perhaps best read as ‘in the first half of 2016’. DAs for the fit-out of restaurants and cafés have been submitted to Council, so we know the businesses that will be there. These are:

  • Butcher and Farmer
    By far the largest of the restaurants, this enterprise by chef Jared Ingersoll has been described in media articles as encompassing ‘a restaurant specialising in humble farm to table fare, as well as a retail space consisting of a deli, butchery and fresh local produce.’
  • Fish and Co – currently on Booth St, Annandale
  • Flour Eggs Water – restaurant
  • Bekya – a Middle Eastern restaurant
  • Tokyo Bird – restaurant and bar
  • Bodega 1904 – restaurant and catering service
  • Garcon – cafe and ‘roastery’
  • Gelato Messina

In addition, there will be a medical centre and pharmacy. On a partial mezzanine level there will be 500m2 of community space, owned and managed by Council.

The Glebe Society has it on good authority that the supermarket will not be one of the two big chains. A liquor store will be located next to the supermarket. Parking will be above the supermarket, as well as in front of the building – about 170 spaces in all. There will be pedestrian access by lift and escalator to Maxwell Rd, near the light rail station.

Residential buildings
The total number of residential units will be 1250 bringing an expected population of about 2500. Residents are now moving into the set of buildings bordering The Crescent, Scotsman St and Ross St. This will bring the completed units to about 75% of the total. Three other buildings are due for completion this year: one on the corner of The Crescent and Wigram Rd; one on Ross St; and Maxwell Place (accessible only from Maxwell Rd). The final building, facing The Crescent and the Canal, will be completed in 2017.

Affordable rental apartments
Through a planning agreement with Mirvac, Council secured land for nearly 80 affordable rental apartments. The land is on the corner of Ross St and Wigram Rd, behind the buildings currently under construction by Mirvac on the corner of Wigram Rd and The Crescent, a site currently being used for construction offices and sheds. Late last year Council sold the site to City West Housing, an established affordable housing provider that has built more than 650 affordable rental homes over the past 20 years, including in Pyrmont and North Eveleigh. At Harold Park there will be 76 low-cost apartments, including 13 that are adaptable for elderly or disabled residents. Building will start in the second half of this year, for completion in 2018.

Finally, note that the information in this report is based on Council documents and articles in the media, some quite old, so we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the detail. Anyone with a specific query would need to contact Mirvac.