Lend Lease taking control of city

While the State Government’s $2.5 billion overhaul of the Darling Harbour precinct moved a step closer last week, concerns have been raised about Lend Lease’s increasing control over the city’s development.

Lend Lease is contracted for the majority of big ticket developments around Sydney Harbour. This includes the development of Barangaroo, developing Darling Harbour’s new 900-room hotel and the building of up to 1,300 apartments. A planning application for the Darling Harbour makeover was lodged with the Department of Planning last week.

City of Sydney Councillor John Mant, a leading expert on planning systems and local government management, believes the Darling Harbour precinct will become monopolised and shut out retail opportunities for smaller businesses.

“If you set up a development corporation and give them a slice of government land, almost inevitably you finish up with a shopping centre and a wall around it [or an] office park and a food court,” he said.

Lend Lease’s heavy involvement around Sydney’s CBD has raised concerns a lack of diversity in the retail sector will minimise any healthy competition.

“That’s why King St Newtown is interesting, because it has a whole lot of little landlords and retailers competing with each other,” said Mr Mant. “You don’t get that in a shopping centre and you won’t get that at Lend Lease’s part of the city no matter how nicely they do the design.”

Councillor Angela Vithoulkas supported Mr Mant’s sentiments, opining she is “concerned that the State Government didn’t consider spreading the risk by involving a different developer since Lend Lease are already involved with Barangaroo”.

“Sydney deserves a six-star result in every way. In the end I hope the right company has been selected for this project and can deliver what Sydney and Darling Harbour deserves,” she said.

Despite Mr Mant’s concerns over a lack of diversity, he does not believe Lend Lease are altogether a “bad choice”.

“If you have to have someone controlling it all … they (Lend Lease) are not a bad choice. They are a company that does understand something about urban design and are making a real effort in those constraints to connect Chinatown and Haymarket and to make public strips and city-type developments,” he said.

Lend Lease is currently trying to find an investor and operator for its 900-room hotel by mid-year to ensure the project is fully completed by 2016 and applications are lodged in time. The hotel is expected to be one of Australia’s largest upon completion.

The State Government has partnered with Darling Harbour Live – a consortium led by Lend Lease and including Capella Capital, AEG Ogden and Spotless Facilities Services – for the overall development of the precinct.

Executive Director of the Sydney Business Chamber, Patricia Forsythe believes the NSW Government’s overhaul of the city will revitalise Sydney.

“Taken together with the development of Barangaroo, the western edge of Sydney Harbour will emerge as an exciting precinct worthy of Sydney as a global city,” she said.