East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): Opera Garden Centre Scheme Revisited (1986)

Welcome to Part 4 of our series on the redevelopment of East Circular Quay.

The Story so far...

Redevelopment plans for East Circular Quay date back to 1979, with plans unveiled to build an apartment block at 35-37 Macquarie Street. Construction commenced and was reported as "under construction" throughout the first half of the 1980s.

Plans for the Opera Garden Centre scheme were unveiled in 1984 by Lend Lease to redevelop the entire block and build two major towers at the southern end while constructing a lowrise development on the remainder of the block with the Royal Botanic Gardens extended to Circular Quay through burying Macquarie Street.

In 1983, Molena Holdings bought Unilever House (Current site of 1 Bennelong) for $22.8 million in 1983 and in 1986 unveiled plans to convert the office building into a hotel.

This week, the focus continues on 1986, and the Opera Garden Centre scheme was still in planning mode. 

The 1986 Scheme

The first mention of the 1986 scheme was in The Sun Herald on March 16 1986. 

 

Source: O'Hara, J. 1986 "Circular Quay plan draws fire". The Sun Herald, March 16: 17.

The Sydney Morning Herald, on March 17 1986, reported on it as if it were something new altogether.

Source: Grealy, M. 1986. "Businessmen have $1 billion plan for Opera House Precinct". The Sydney Morning Herald, March 17: 

The next day, The Sydney Morning Herald published a feature including a photo of Mr Forgan with a model of his proposed development. The 1986 scheme proposed one tall tower of 56 levels (down from two smaller towers in the 30-40 storey range), a six-star hotel, along with a "huge" shopping complex. The Botanic Gardens would be extended over Macquarie Street as originally proposed. 

 

Source: Grealy, M. 1986. "The Forgan vision of Circular Quay". The Sydney Morning Herald, March 18: 2. 

As for the landholders on Macquarie Street, they felt that it would not happen, which time would eventually prove right to them.

 

Source: Grealy, M. 1986. "Owners doubt chances on Circular Quay project". The Sydney Morning Herald, March 19: 3. 

Next Week, I will revisit Unilever House and its proposed conversion into a hotel and the demolition of the building. 

Entries in this series:

1. East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): The first apartment block proposal (1979)
2. East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): Opera Garden Centre Scheme (1984)
3. East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): Unilever House Hotel Conversion (1986)

Property Advert of the Week: Bentley & Co. New Line Contemporary Style Bungalow (1965)

Below is a model home that was on offer by Bentley & CO. in 1965. The New Line Contemporary Style Bungalow was available either in a three or five bedroom configuration. 

 

Source: Bentley & Co. 1965. "Untitled" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, October 16: 24.

The model home (37 Castle Hill Road, West Pennant Hills) has been replaced by a more modern home. 

East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): Unilever House Hotel Conversion (1986)

Source: Anon. 1988. Untitled (illustration). The Weekend Australian, April 2: 1 (Property Liftout).

In part three of our series on the redevelopment of East Circular Quay, I look at the proposal to redevelop Unilever House through the conversion of the office building into a hotel.

Unilever House was completed in 1958 and was 16 storeys tall. It was located far northern end of East Circular Quay (Location of 1 Bennelong), predating the Sydney Opera House by 15 years.

Source: Kent, S. 1986. "Lang Hancock Plans Hotel for Choice Quay Site". Good Weekend Magazine (The Sydney Morning Herald), February 22: 5.

Last week, I mentioned that Unilever House was bought by Molena Holdings for $22.8 million in 1983. In 1986, plans were lodged with Sydney City Council to redvelop the office building into a 223 room hotel. The structure was to remain, with the top two floors demolished and rebuilt to contain hotel suites.

The estimated cost of redevelopment was placed at $75 million. Conditional pproval was given in 1986. 

Source: Childs, P. 1986. "Opera House hotel plans get the nod". The Sun Herald, April 6: 23. 

Next week, I will revisit the Opera Gardens Scheme which was also in the planning mode in 1986.

Other Entries in this series

1. East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): The first apartment block proposal (1979)
2. East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): Opera Garden Centre Scheme (1984)

Property Advert of the Week: Waratah Court, Parramatta (1995)

Below is a 1995 newspaper advertisement by Meriton Apartments to promote the Waratah Court Complex at Parramatta.

Source: Meriton Premier Apartments. 1995. "Waratah Court" (Advertisement). The Sydney Morning Herald, June 24: 85. 

East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): Opera Garden Centre Scheme (1984)

Last week, I commenced our new series focusing on the redevelopment of East Circular Quay and focused on the first proposal to build a unit block at 35-37 Macquarie Street. There was little to be found on why it didn't proceed other than a reference in a 1982 newspaper article in The Sydney Morning Herald mentioning that it had been demolished and was under construction. 

In 1984, Lend Lease unveiled their plan to redevelop the entire block for $700 million. Lend Lease were tenants in one of the buildings and therefore had a connection the site.

Source: O'Hara, J. 1984. "The bold $700 million plan to rescue the heart of Sydney". The Sun Herald, September 16: 4-5. 

It was an ambitious but simple plan. Two office blocks between thirty and forty levels would be built at the Cahill Expressway end. The rest of the block would contain two levels of shops and restaurants. Above it would be an extension of the Royal Botanic Gardens, which would cross over Macquarie Street. A carpark would also be built for patrons visiting the Sydney Opera House.

However, there were challenges facing Lend Lease that could have killed the scheme quickly involving two sites within the block

1. 35-37 Macquarie Street

This article also references 35-37 Macquarie Street being "under construction".

2. Unilever House

Molena Holdings purchased Unilever House for $22.8 million in December 1983.

Our series continues next week. 

Other entries in this series 

East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): The first apartment block proposal (1979)

Property Advert of the Week: AVJennings Ad (1991)

Property Advert of the Week returns for 2024. Below is a 1991 newspaper advertisement from AVJennings offering homes to be built on your block of land. Three-bedroom homes could be built for $ 58,990, and four-bedroom homes for $ 69,990. Display centres were located at McGraths Hill, Castle Hill, Pennant Hills, Hurstville, Narellan, Menai, and Abbotsbury, along with Erina and Kariong on the Central Coast. 

   

Source: AVJennings. "AVJennings Shock Prices!" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph Mirror, July 20: 8.

East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): The first apartment block proposal (1979)

Above: The first proposal for an apartment block at East Circular Quay on the site of 35-37 Macquarie Street. Full citation below.

Welcome to the first entry in a new series focusing on the redevelopment of East Circular Quay. The story spans four decades.

In this series, we will look at the proposals to redevelop sites in the block bounded by the Cahill Expressway, Circular Quay East (now a pedestrian Mall) and Macquarie Street, along with the developments that eventuated to make the area what it is today.

At the end of the 1970s, East Circular Quay comprised of office buildings that averaged fifteen stories in height, built during the 1950s and 1960s.

There were also two buildings on the strip that were six storeys tall. One of them was 35-37 Macquarie Street, which was located next door to Unilever House. The building was built in 1953 and used as a Paper Store by the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Ltd (CBC). In 1979, The CBC had made the decision to sell off the building as their Paper Store was now based at a warehouse in Alexandria 

Source: Jones Lang Wootton & Henderson & Horning Pty. Ltd. 1979. Untitled (Advertisement). The Sydney Morning Herald, March 15: 33. 

Source: Maddox, G. 1979. "Site near Circular Quay may be used for units". The Sydney Morning Herald, April 11: 25. 

An unnamed buyer purchased the building for $ 900,000, the equivalent of $5 million today, according to the RBA Inflation Calculator. The name of the buyer was initially unknown.

Source: Maddox, G. 1979. "Quay building goes to unnamed buyer." The Sydney Morning Herald, April 19: 11. 

In October 1979, the owners of the building, Jedobo Pty. Ltd unveiled plans for a 19-storey apartment tower to replace the building. 25 Apartments would be on sale for up to $500,000 or up to $2.8 million in today's money, according to the RBA Inflation Calculator.

Source: Maddox, G. 1979. "Quay units plan for a $1/2m city view". The Sydney Morning Herald, October 11: 1. 

However, the project would not proceed.

Five years would pass before the next phase in the redevelopment of East Circular Quay would commence.