MEDIA COVERAGE
Farewell to Water Rats, hello to rich set
By Sean Nicholls
A fading reminder of the area's working past, the old Water Rats headquarters on Elizabeth Macarthur Bay is the final jigsaw piece of Pyrmont's transformation into a swish inner-city residential address.
Now, after a year of intense community consultation over its future, the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority has unveiled the shape it wants redevelopment of the 1.3-hectare plot of prime foreshore land to take once the NSW Water Police move to new headquarters at Camerons Cove, Balmain, early next year.
The plans, revealed to Pyrmont residents this week, include 100 residential apartments across four buildings, a large public square and foreshore walkway.
More contentiously, the design by Sydney architects Engelen Moore also features a 13-storey residential tower that dominates the southern end of the site. There will be 1200 square metres of commercial space.
Although the authority said the plans had been well received by the community, the announcement has again prompted an outcry against any form of development and renewed calls for its dedication to the public as open space.
The design was chosen from three finalists in a competition launched last year in response to local anger over the initial master plan, which proposed more than 200 apartments.
A spokesman for the authority said it offered "the best balance of building and public domain design" and had twice the amount of open space as the original master plan, including a 900-square-metre public plaza and 20-metre-wide foreshore promenade.
The elected community representative on the judging panel, Geoff Twibill, endorsed that view, describing the process as responsible and the outcome of "mutual benefit".
But Marcelle Hoff, president of the Friends of Pyrmont Point group, said she was disillusioned by the outcome. She said the authority was out of touch with the community and the winning design was the one least preferred by residents.
"There are enough flats here already," she said. "We need greenery, somewhere for the kids to play. We don't want a little footpath that leads around to the Fish Market."
The spokesman for the authority denied the winning design was the least popular with residents and said the panel considered a range of factors in makings its decision, including the community input.
7/07/2003 - Sydney Morning Herald
