State Wants More Homes at Sydney’s Blackwattle Bay

Plans to increase the residential component of the Blackwattle Bay Precinct are in the works as the NSW Government seeks a development partner.

The precinct, between Pyrmont and Glebe, has undergone preparation for major renewal in recent years.

It includes a 3.6ha component—the former site of a fish market—that Infrastructure NSW is seeking a partner to develop.

That site is subject to a expressions-of-interest campaign due to close on August 19. 

Infrastructure NSW has now announced it wants an amendment to planning controls that would allow up to 70 per cent residential on the Blackwattle Bay site, up from the initial 50 per cent planned. 

The total site of 10.4ha spanning from the Anzac Bridge to the new Sydney Fish Market was rezoned in December, 2022.

The transformation as it stands would deliver 1200 new homes, employment space and 3.4ha of public open space. 

The rezoning finalised in 2022 also allows mixed-use development of up to 136,423sq m of gross floor area.

Work on the new Sydney Fish Market is under way and due to complete in 2025. It is projected to attract 6 million visitors annually. 

▲ Renders of the new Sydney Fish Market, which is under construction.

Infrastructure NSW this year announced it was seeking a development partner for the project to renew the former market site, in a two-stage procurement process. 

The first stage is the current campaign, which asks respondents to demonstrate their record, understanding of the NSW Government’s vision, and capacity to undertake the redevelopment. The second stage will be a request for a proposal for the site. 

The NSW Government wants plans for a “walkable, mixed-use neighborhood” in the heart of Sydney. 

It has an ambitious sustainability target, including the precinct to be net-zero carbon by 2041, and has integrated those goals into the Precinct Design Guidelines.

Infrastructure NSW also said that delivering world-class public spaces was a priority for the site, which will include a new 1.1ha park at Bank Street, and a new foreshore promenade, completing a 15km harbourside walk between Woolloomooloo and Rozelle Bay. 

It is one of a number of major developments changing the face of Sydney’s waterfront spaces, including Aqualand’s redevelopment of Barangaroo.