Matt Levinson from the Committee for Sydney think tank said each block had “its own peculiar story”,but it was imperative that prime land close to public transport,services and jobs was fully utilised.
“Every one of these dormant properties represents homes or public space we’re missing out on,” he said. “When affordability and proximity are critical issues limiting the future of our city,it’s inconceivable that a way can’t be found to bring these sites back into use.”
The site at 14-26 Wattle Street Pyrmont,on the corner of Fig Street,has been a literal dump for more than a century. In the late 1800s it was a quarry called Hell Hole,one of a trio of Pyrmont quarries alongside Paradise and Purgatory. It was leased to the City of Sydney in 1905 for tar distillation and later became a council depot,which closed in 1990.
In the years since it was used casually to store sandstone,poles and construction waste,but has been dormant since 2015. The state government flirted with buying the 1.2 hectare site for a new school but eventually declined. Finally,however,there is some movement.
In 2018 the block was sold for $200 million to a Melbourne-based developer,Landream,which promptly lodged a $220 million plan for 250 apartments,commercial outlets,a childcare centre and a two-court indoor sports centre.
But nothing can be that easy. The council rejected that development application in June 2019 for breaching height controls,among other things. Landream appealed to the Land and Environment Court and entered negotiations with the City of Sydney,during which the council demanded “significant modifications and a public benefit offer involving a footpath along Jones Street”.