VISIONS OF SYDNEY: Bondi Junction Piazza (2001)

Full Citation Below

This is the last entry in our current series of Visions of Sydney. In 2001, Waverley Council had plans to build a Piazza in Bondi Junction to revitalise the Oxford Street mall. Retailers were struggling to attract customers into the mall following the opening of the undercover Bus/Rail Interchange, along with the redevelopment of Westfield Bondi Junction (completed 2004). 

Piazza-style malls were a trend at the time in Sydney, as reflected with The Forum at Leichhardt (1998) and Kogarah Town Square (2003). Apart from retail, the malls were surrounded by a residential population residing in apartment buildings (low to mid-rise). 

The piazza was to be centred on the site of Bronka Arcade and buildings adjacent to it. Low-rise apartment buildings would surround the Piazza along its western and eastern ends, while the podium of Eastgate Plaza would be moved forward into Spring Street to connect the complex with the piazza. This would have required the closure of Spring Street between Bronte Road and Newland Street.

   

Source: Harley, R. 2001. "Council is thinking outside the square". The Australian Financial Review, September 4: page unknown. 

NEVER BUILT SYDNEY: 1 Oxford Street Hotel (1970)

1 Oxford Street is a 27-level office tower, completed in 1982 that occupies the corner of Oxford Street and Wentworth Avenue.

Did you know that early plans for the site called for a hotel tower instead of an office tower? Below is a proposal from 1970.

Source: Anon. 1970. "Australia in the 70s: Room for 1100 in a space age hotel". The Daily Mirror, January 7: 3. 

The tower was similar in height with 29 stories rising to around 350 feet (106 metres). The rooms would accommodate a total of 800 guests and also included a convention centre with a capacity of 1100 people along with a rooftop restaurant. The developer Hooker Projects would oversee planning and construction and hoped to sell the tower to a hotelier. In March 1971, Hooker Corporation announced that the hotel would not proceed likely due to financial returns and the price paid for land in Sydney. Its axing was despite increased demand for luxury international hotels in Sydney associated with increased demand for jet air travel.

Source: McGlynn, K. 1971. "There's no room at the inn...". The Sunday Telegraph, March 7: 40.