Jacksons Landing by Vivas Lend Lease and Hyder Consulting
Once home to a shipping port, sandstone quarry, sugar refinery, iron works, and industry, ‘Jacksons Landing’ spent almost 40 years in neglect before the 11.7 ha site was redeveloped to create a vibrant urban village alongside Sydney Harbour and within easy reach of the CBD.
The concept was first canvassed in 1988 but only came to fruition with Lend Lease’s purchase of the site in 1996. An international joint venture and redevelopment plan quickly followed, which has seen the progressive integration of commercial-retail capacity and quality community amenities into the area e.g. ample landscaped public spaces, shops and retail areas, parklands and waterfront park, and community sport and leisure facilities.
With the last phase—Distillery Hill precinct—well underway, the project is nearing completion. Stages 1, 2a, 2b and 5a are already finished. Construction of Stage 3 is underway with completion late 2010 and stages 4 and 5b now selling and under construction soon with completion 2012. In total the precinct Distillery Hill will yield over 680 dwellings ranging from stand alone high-rise apartments to low-rise terrace style apartments and multi-storey townhouses.
Hyder’s protracted involvement with Jacksons Landing dates back to 1999, starting with civil engineering design and documentation, services coordination and site inspections that have continued to this day. As the redevelopment runs its final lap to the finish line, all involved can look back proudly at the dramatic transformation into a Harbour ‘dress circle’ destination whose significance easily rivals the area's former commercial and industrial fame.
Judges Comments
As the much awarded development at Jacksons Landing nears completion, the full impact of the scale and quality of this urban renewal project can now be fully appreciated.
The creation of this urban village, which embodies the adaptive reuse of its industrial history, whilst blending an eclectic variety of architecture, has made a significant contribution to the revitalisation of Pyrmont and the accessibility of the harbour foreshore. In so doing, it has established benchmarks by which future harbourside renewal projects will be measured and demonstrated the benefits to be realised from a well executed high density development.