The Hive Evolves Again

I was surprised to see yet another Development Application for the Newtown (though most people think of it as Erskineville) site known for a while as the Hive, formerly used as the Mardi Gras workshops. There's been a long history of Development Applications for the site, which has been empty for a significant period of time.

Hive Building

The Mayor has been tracking the evolution of the Hive (not to be confused with the relatively new Hive Bar) since May 2009, when the first revision of the DA occurred. At that stage, it seemed as if the long running saga had finally come to a conclusion, with most people satisfied with the compromise of a single story supermarket, although the Friends of Erskineville were still holding out for something else (what was not quite clear). Sometime during the course of last year, intended occupiers Woolworths, who had been hoping to open their 'gourmet' brand Thomas Dux, must have lost interest, as the most recent DA prior to this week (minor amendments around the internals) mentioned IGA as the tenants.

The new Application has somewhat surprisingly upped the ante, reversing the previous application by adding not one but two stories of residential apartments. Somewhat naively the Traffic Impact statement claims there will be no discernible traffic impact from the additional residencies, as they will all be sold without car spaces. While this is great in principal, I predict a future of the supermarket manager clamping resident's cars that are left in the supermarket's limited parking spaces, and car shuffling around the area's limited parking spaces.

Artists Impression

Despite the above, there's actually a lot to support in this application. It certainly looks smart enough in the photos above, and infill developments like these so close to two train lines are certainly preferable to acres of Mc Mansions in the Hills District. I can't help wondering if the hold-out protesters from the previous proposal are now regretting their opposition to the last-but-one application; as it would appear to have triggered a re-think.
 
As is often the case with these DAs, there's lot's of  information to be found in the Historical Impact Statement (pdf)  for those of you with an interest in our past. Below is a photo from the report looking down Erskineville Road.

So what do you think ? Is it too big ? Will the traffic ruin the Village ? Or is about time the abandoned sites along Erskineville Road were developed ? 

Newtown Station Latest

After a long period of silence, the revised Newtown Station renovations were launched this month by local member and Deputy Premier, Carmel Tebbutt and Transport Minister, Davd Campbell. The accompanying press release (pdf) was light on detail, although did contain an intruiging reference to 'including archaeological testing and demolition of the old kebab shop'. The renovations are supposed to cost an extraordinary $31M dollars, you really think we'd be getting more for that than a tarted up old station building, covered walkway and a couple of elevators.

Today

The main change from the previous proposal (read more here and here) is that the gaudy canopy (on the right below) :

has been replaced by a simpler cleaner look, which is an improvement. Interesting though that the revised plan was not provided to the public for comment, and indeed is not online anywhere. The Mayor's requests to Carmel Tebbutt's office for any further information have not been responded to.

Probably because this was about the 17th launch of station renovation plans (a NSW Labor specialty) there wasn't a lot of press, apart from this very brief article in the Inner West Courier. The comments on that article reflect the general cynicism that this will actually go ahead.

However a D.A. has already been lodged with the council, although intruigingly only for soil quality testing (those kebabs again) rather than any demolition or construction work. I've got to say it's the most detailed documentation I've ever seen, given the limited scope of the works. Maybe that's where some the $31M is going. According to the press release a tender has been called for the demolition of the kebabery as well; still, I'll only be assured this is real when I see signs of some construction rather than destruction.

Newtown Station - Mayor's take

In my last post I summarised what I could find regarding RailCorp's plans to upgrade Newtown Station. So what do I think about the planned upgrade ?

In some ways the plan was a surprise for me, I had been expecting the concourse to push out behind the existing station building; assuming that the insides would be fully gutted to provide a smooth access to the lifts and stairs. The actual plan is more ambitious and has the advantage of also cleaning up the mess that is the property between the station and the Townie.


Other positive aspects of the plan include the renovation of the Tramway Depot Office (above) - as well as the existing buildings that were always going to be repaired, and of course the fact that the station gets two new stairs (should reduce the crowding that occurs after every train in peak hour) as well as a lift to improve access for many people who today struggle with the stairs. I'm pretty sure a single lift will be sufficient so I'm not worried about that.


One commenter has observed that the modern "wave" look of the new retail and concourse is out of character for Newtown. It's hard to tell from the limited 'artist's impression', and I'm not a fan of faux heritage; but it is important that the new retail be sympathetic to the surrounds, without necessarily aping them. Hopefully we will be provided more detailed plans and get a chance to really see how they fit in with the surrounding buildings. From first glance the wave roof may well be too domineering for the area. I'm not sure about covering the whole area between King Street and the concourse either - it's important part of the walk way is covered so that it's possible to get to the platform dry, without a massive structure blocking out all sunlight.

My biggest worry though is the impact these plans might have on the tram sheds and remaining open space in front of them next to the station. In the Mayor's ideal world, this open space would become a public square, the Tram Sheds converted to low cost artist/designer residence with on site markets (as well as cafes etc). It would be a shame if this station upgrade blocked off access to the remainder of the open space in front of the sheds, or indeed took up too much of the space that could otherwise become part of a Newtown Town Square.


It's very hard to get accurate information on what the state of play is with the tram sheds - my recollection from the April meeting was that they had been sold to a developer a while ago, it had all gone pear-shaped and it was now in court. Fingers crossed that the situation can be saved.


Anyone got any more information on the tram sheds ? In a future post I will give more ideas on what I'd like to see happen there, but I'd love to get the full picture of the current situation.

And what do you think ? I'd love to see some comments.

Newtown Station Plans Revealed

A few months ago, your mayor attended the community information session on the oft-delayed Newtown Station upgrade, where deputy premier and local member Carmel Tebut, representing both herself and the absent RailCorp and RTA, announced that the initial proposed plans for a lift from the existing station building to the platform had been abandoned for technical reasons, and RailCorp had gone back to the drawing board, with more ambitious (and expensive plans) due for release in 3-6 months for public comment.

Credit where credit is due, last month RailCorp did indeed come out with some details on the planned upgrade and timing. While there is a glossy brochure (available at the station) describing the upgrade (from where the above image comes), details are hard to come by online. The NSW government planning site offers just an unhelpful map, and local media coverage was limited to one article in the local rags. Finally however I managed to find the Development Application on the Heritage Branch website; where it appears we have until September 16th to comment, provided we get to Parramatta for the paper copies before then ! It rather brings to mind the beginning of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

So what do we get ? The application states:

Proposal: Construction of easy access facilities including installation of one lift to the platform, new centrally located overhead concourse, two stairs to the platform, new elevated covered access walkway from street entry to the concourse, new public toilets and family accessible toilet, new platform canopies, relocation of station ticketing facilities to refurbished two storey Tramways Depot Office, new and upgraded retail premises.

What this means is that the unused area between the station and the Townie will become the station entry, with a semi-covered walkway leading down to a point past the end of the Townie, where a concourse will be built over the platform, with two new sets of stairs dropping down onto the platform, as well as the much promised lift (just one).


The picture above may help (click on it for a larger version); the building behind the tree is the Tramways Depot Office, which is proposed to become the new booking office, and the walkway runs down past it before swooping over the platform to become the new concourse and access point.

The map below gives another viewpoint; from it, it appears a new station access will be created at Thomas Street, off Newman Street.


The existing station buildings will be refurbished; and the existing stairs will disappear. The area outside the current booking office becomes part of the concourse; and the wall between it and the new access is removed. The actual booking office becomes new retail; and the adjacent 'Thundabox' building is to be (finally) renovated. It seems though that the Mayor's suggestion of a direct slippery dip from Platform 8 at the Townie has unfortunately been ignored.

Below are a few more pictures to help understand the plans.

Thundabox in its present-day glory

Current Building

New Entrance -
the chimney will presumably disappear as the wall is opened up

Kebabery to be replaced with new retail

A Bit Shit

Our Newtown, while being the best and most famous, is not by any means the only Newtown in the world. Close to home, and close-ish in feel, is the Newtown in Wellington across the ditch. Near a hospital, home to many students, famous for its grungy feel, it in many ways resembles Newtown (Sydney) circa 1988. Hell, it even has a Wilson Street !

Towards the end of last year there was a bit of a stink in the Wellington press when a local resident created the t-shirt above: Newtown - It's a Bit Shit. The local progress association and council got involved - displaying a total absence of a sense of humour, and generating priceless publicity for the shop that was by now selling them. There's a good summary of the blue in this article on the excellent Wellingtonista website.

Your mayor, who was there at the time, tried to buy one but was put off by the price (70 Kiwi bucks), and more concretely, by the fact that the store selling them on Cuba Street was always closed. I did, however, spot one at the Eveleigh Markets a couple of weeks ago and I'm sure there's a market for an enterprising enterpreneur (is there any other kind ?) to start making some similar here using a photo of one of the Top 5 Eyesores.

For those interested, there are 5 Newtowns with their own postcode in Australia - the others are in Toowoomba and Ipswich - home of Hanson - in Queensland, and Geelong and Ballarat in Victoria. No fewer than 23 Newtowns have earnt an entry (or stub) in Wikipedia - including Newtown in Pennsylvania which recently celebrated its 325th Anniversary - surely it will soon be time to rename it Oldtown ? There are other clusters of Newtowns in Ireland (5), Northern Ireland (5), California (5) and the rest of the United Kingdom (12), but strangely only one in Canada. Special recognition to the Newtown in Wales, owner of the Newtown.co.uk domain, and, having been founded in 1321, almost certainly the oldest Newtown in town.

I've only been to the Wellington Newtown so far - I think I can feel a junket coming on. Anyone visited any others ? Any visitors from other Newtowns to this blog ?

Hive of Non-Activity

In neighbouring Erskineville there has been a recent hullabaloo over the planned conversion of the old Sydney Mardi Gras warehouse (also known as the Hive) on Erskineville Road into a Supermarket. A very vocal and effective campaign was waged by the local pressure group 'Village Friends' - their excellent website is worth checking out - and Sydney City Council eventually rejected the application due to traffic issues and the impact on surrounding businesses. The appeal to the Land and Environment Court was also rejected in January this year.

A new Development Application has just been received by Council for a grocery store (far less threatening than a supermarket) on the same site. At first glance it seems that many of the residents' objections have been addressed; the area of the proposed grocery store  is less than 900sqm, compared with the 2138sqm of the orginal proposal, and there are only 16 car spaces envisaged. The proposal is only for a single story building which is the same as the existing building, as opposed to the previous double story plans.

The Economic Impact Assessment is the most interesting document submitted as part of the DA, explaining (or at least claiming) that the smaller grocery store will only attract locals and limited passing traffic, rather than being a destination store attracting (car based) shoppers.As anyone who lives in the area can tell you, that part of Erskinevile Road is chockers  and most times of the day and really doesn't need any more traffic. Still, at 900sqm the proposed store is only slightly smaller than King Street's Franklins (1200sqm) and Foodworks (1042sqm), neither of which are small 'grocery stores'.

So what do people think ? Does this DA go far enough in meeting the council's requirements ? Is this a positive development for Newtown/Erskineville (technically the Hive is in Newtown although most would consider it part of Erskineville) ? Let me know !

By the way, like the Hub, the Hive is available for short term rent while the DA gets processed.

What of the Hub ?

I'm not sure how it escaped the Mayor's attention, but last October, Marrickville Council thankfully rejected a development application to convert the Hub in Newtown to a 3 story combined retail and commercial premises. The full details, including plans, are on pages 303-323 of the Council Minutes (34MB - beware - and see comments below for download instructions). The text regarding the decision reads:

File Ref: DA200800185
Application to carry out alterations and additions to convert the Hub
theatre into retail space on the ground floor and two levels of open plan
commercial office space above. Four (4) submissions were received in
response to Council's notification of the proposal. A submission was
also received from RailCorp advising of certain matters, such as noise
and vibration and stray currents from railway operations, that should be
addressed in the assessment of the application. The proposed
development varies from the maximum floor space ratio prescribed
under Marrickville Local Environmental Plan 2001, and the applicant
has submitted an objection under State Environmental Planning Policy
No. 1 in support of the proposed variation. The proposed development
fails to provide car parking in accordance with Marrickville
Development Control Plan No. 19 – Parking Strategy. Council’s
Heritage and Urban Design Advisor does not support the proposed
development as the subject proposal equates to substantial demolition of
the existing building and will result in the loss of a significant social
icon, which is located in the centre of a key heritage precinct. The
application is recommended for refusal. The application is referred to
the Committee for determination due to the prominent location of the
site, the local significance of the theatre building and the excess gross
floor area proposed.

The Hub is now available for short term lease - presumably while a follow up DA is being prepared. Thanks to the anonymous tipster who pointed this out on the Newtown Eyesores post.

The Hub is a Newtown icon and deserves a better future than being chopped up and diced out like a piece of meat. Hopefully the owners can come up with better plans than that.

What should become of the Hub ? Is there room in Newtown for another live music venue, so close to the Enmore and Factory ? Do we bring back the skin flicks ? Is an ice-skating rink the answer ? A permanent artisan's market ? Are there any proposed short term uses ?

Your thoughts please !

Mayor's Top 5: Newtown Eyesores

Semi-abandoned property adjoining Newtown Station

Newtown is probably more famous for its cultural attractions than its physical landscape, yet part of its charm is consistency of the mainly Victorian period architecture, including both the ubiquitous terrace houses as well as the shopping precinct of King St, which has been described as "perhaps Sydney's largest and best example of 19th Century commercial architecture" and is listed on the Register of the National Estate.

However Newtown is not quite as harmonious architecturally as it could be, and at a certain point in time certain of my predecessors in council have taken their eye of the ball (possibly assisted by wads of something subtly placed in their pockets) and allowed the construction of what can only be described as architectural shockers to be built in the area.

In this first in a planned series of Top Fives, the Mayor of Newtown presents ... Newtown's Top Five Eyesores !

#5 Newtown Police Station

Somewhere in the world there is someone who will defend this as a wonderful example of Brutalism. That someone is not me; this ugly 70s monstrosity issues a giant up yours to its surrounding Heritage Listed examples of 19th Century civic architecture. Prince Charles is famous as a critic of Brutalism, having famously said of a London example: "You have to give this much to the Luftwaffe - when it knocked down our buildings, it didn't replace them with anything more offensive than rubble." While the mayor is a little more open to the charms of Brutalism in the right context, the Newtown Civic area is not it.

#4 Brown Street Apartments

This multi-dwelling apartment block is the only residential building to make the mayor's list of shame, despite some fairly serious competition from some of the recent additions to North King Street (you know who I'm talking about, Georgina apartments).

Like the Police Station above the main crime of this building is the sheer inappropriateness of the building's location. Dense mutli-living dwellings like this have their place - and this building would not look out of place in Mona Vale, for example. Yet I struggle to think who could approve the construction of a building like this next door to historic Newtown Library.

#3 Newtown Professional Centre

I don't think this one needs any words.

#2 The Dendy

Those whose only experience of Newtown is King Street could be forgiven for being surprised at this choice; at the street front the Dendy in someways epitomises what many people like about Newtown; a cool cafe, an indie cinema, record shop and book shop all in the same open complex.

Come around the back though, and things aren't so rosy. In fact the Dendy deserves two entries in this list - not only does it present a particularly squat arse to Camperdown Memorial Park (home to the Newtown Festival):

but recent renovations managed to add an even more offensive and out of place side profile to Mary Street, the split into two equally repellent lumps totally mocking the neighbouring Emily Terraces.

This development was the subject of a dispute between Marrickville council and the developers - apparently the council had imposed conditions on the developers that somehow they felt they could ignore. Does anyone have the latest on this ? The SMH article is no longer on-line.

This eyesore has been a reason for the mayor to boycott the Dendy cinema since the redevelopment.

#1 Telstra Exchange

The winner by a nose however is Newtown's Telstra exchange, located on an L-shaped property stretching from Mary Street (opposite the ugliness of the Dendy) to King Street (the carpark forms the wall of the 'I Have a Dream' mini-plaza).

This building would be ugly and out of place in almost any suburb in Australia (if not the world), but once again, particular offence is created here due to the location of the exchange, looming threateningly over the delightful 1885 Church Avenue terraces (above) and other adjoining terraces (below).

It's a relic of the time when Telstra was Telecom Australia, a federal agency that had no legal obligation to comply with local council regulations. The exchange on Oxford Street Paddington is another classic example. These days even councils have to comply with their own rules for their own developments which is a much improved situation.

There's an interesting picture from January 1980 of King Street during the construction of the exchange here; thanks to the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts for permission to reproduce the web-sized version of their photo on this blog. I can recommend snooping around their site and learning more about the Heritage rules and how they apply, as well as for some cool old photos.

Copyright DEWHA. Photographer Charlton K

Here's what it looks like today, you can just see the exchange car park walls behind the trees.

Have I forgotten anything ? Are there any other eyesores that deserve to make this list ? Have I been too harsh on some of the buildings above. Comments please !