For years it was the Redfern Mall. Then it was the Surry Hills Shopping Centre.
Some people have given it much worse names, but come 2024 the site on the southern corner of Cleveland and Crown Streets will be the Surry Hills Village.
This week Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore joined executives from developer and builder TOGA Group to break ground for the development, which will combine 122 residences, a 102 room hotel with retail, dining, commercial areas and a public park.
The Lord Mayor welcomed the development as she posed with the shovel, saying it marked the “revitalisation” of the site.
“It will bring new life to the area and better serve the needs of the people who are living here,” she said.
For locals, the question is whether the development will be a standalone precinct, or interact with the rest of the area and community and become truly integrated.
TOGA Managing Director Allan Vidor said he was confident that it would become a “real focal meeting point.”
“There are so many wonderful things to do here, not just the shopping, the café’s, the boutique hotel, an event space where we’re planning to hold a bunch of cultural events, lectures, and working with some really interesting people who want to use it as a place to stage all of their cultural happenings,” Vidor said.
“I think it’s going to be a thriving community meeting hub.”
Local architectural firm SJB worked on the development, with director Adam Haddow saying his team were “hugely passionate” about the project and the opportunity it presents for the neighbourhood.
