Martin Place gets new look with two towers over Metro station
Updated
Martin Place will get a new look, after the Berejiklian Government approved plans for two office towers above the new metro station there.
Key points:
- The Martin Place Metro Station is due to open in 2024
- Macquarie Group had won the bid to build the new metro station after submitting an “unsolicited proposal” in 2017
- The project is expected to create 2,500 construction jobs and house up to 9,000 commercial and retail workers
The State Government released designs for the 39-storey and 29-storey office blocks, which will be built at the northern and southern entrances to the under-construction station.
“Sydney is Australia’s only truly global city and developments like this continue to elevate our status,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
The project is expected to create 2,500 construction jobs and house up to 9,000 commercial and retail workers when it’s completed.
“The new metro precinct will connect the existing T4 line with the Sydney Metro and will include shops, restaurants, offices and connections to Hunter, Elizabeth and Castlereagh Streets for commuters and workers,” Minister for Planning Rob Stokes said.
Work on the new underground metro will be carried out at the same time as construction on the towers above.
Last year, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore was “seriously concerned” planning rules were being bent to accommodate the two towers after the NSW Government amended Sydney’s Local Environmental Plan (LEP).
The Independent Planning Commission and Department of Planning and Environment had both warned in reports that one of the towers should be further away from the busy public square.
In today’s announcement, Premier Berejiklian said it was a “win for the community and a win for taxpayers” after Macquarie Group helped pay for part of the metro station build as part of the deal.
The bank in 2017 had submitted an “unsolicited proposal”, when a proponent approaches the government with a unique value-for-money proposal.
Macquarie would build the new metro station, and in return it would lease out the space for retail and corporate offices.
The Martin Place Metro Station is due to open in 2024 and will connect services from Chatswood to Sydenham through a new line under the harbour.
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