Architect reveals the city-making vision behind Honeysuckle's $1.6b final chapter

A collaboration between national architecture firms and a Newcastle-based practice is at the helm of the $1.6 billion final chapter of Newcastle's Honeysuckle redevelopment.

Sydney-based practice SJB, alongside Stewart Architecture, Andrew Burns Architecture, and Newcastle studio Curious Practice, this week unveiled a master-planned vision for the site with developer DOMA Group that aims to bridge the gap between the city and the harbour.

Dubbed Newcastle Quay, the three-hectare precinct will shift the waterfront "from the edge of the city to its centre", according to SJB Sydney director Emily Wombell.

Ms Wombell, who grew up in Newcastle and has earned national recognition for her work on developments including Huntington, Lume, and Newcastle East End, described the project as deeply personal.

"It's rare to have the opportunity to shape a place you already have such a strong connection to - especially one that plays such a defining role in the city's identity," Ms Wombell said.

"We approached Newcastle Quay as a piece of city-making.

"We wanted to make sure the environment, which Novocastrians are so proud of, is a big part of the experience and the character moving forward.

"We're not trying to create a new character for Newcastle; it's actually reinforcing what everyone loves and is so proud of, and doing that in a way that puts it on the map."

The precinct will include 1000 high-density homes, a 180-room luxury hotel, and a 500-seat conference centre.

Additionally, the site will include more than 28,000 square metres of commercial space and more than 6,000 square metres of retail.

After a national search by the Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation (HCCDC), Canberra-based developer DOMA Group was selected to deliver the project which occupies of the last piece of public land on the city's former industrial waterfront.

In addition to designing the buildings across the site, the architects involved mapped out the spaces between them to create an immediate connection between the city and harbour.

"There were a few key principles in the masterplan itself," she said.

"It is set up to be a long-term framework and to make sure there is ambition for the future of the city, and there is a cohesion to the way that will function in the future.

"It's also defined by establishing a diversity of experience; the way that you move through the site, things you can do on the site, but also the new big public spaces throughout the precinct create a lot of variety as well."

About one-third of the precinct is dedicated to public open space including plazas and green spaces.

This includes a new waterfront park known as Honeysuckle Green, and the Tree of Knowledge Park.

Award-winning Newcastle studio Curious Practice will lead the adaptive reuse and integration of the heritage-listed former Wickham School of Arts building.

Ms Wombell, who received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Newcastle, said the diversity of the precinct is the result of a deliberate collaboration between national and local architect firms.

"The collaborations between multiple architects is critical," she said.

"City-making takes multiple hands and so this has been an important part of our process working with Curious Practice alongside Stewart Architecture and Andrew Burns Architecture.

"It means that we're all testing each other and testing our ideas, and making sure we are doing our absolute best work for this precinct.

"A key thing about having multiple designers is that there is diversity across the buildings; they are not all going to look identical, but we set up principles so there is cohesion and a set of ideas and ambitions for the site that ties it all together."

There are four separate apartment developments in the precinct, including a three-tower complex with more than 230 homes, two towers with more than 190 homes and another three-tower design with more than 200 homes.

The largest residential development will span two towers with more than 320 homes, commercial space and a ground-level grocer.

Other proposed plans for the precinct include a cinema, a brewery, and cafes and restaurants for casual and fine dining.

The project is expected to take 15 years to complete.

HCCDC is slated to begin site preparation and initial mine grouting works this year.

Groundwork for Stage 1, which will deliver the first phase of retail spaces and residential homes, is expected to begin in 2028.

Honeysuckle HQ will be developed across six stages with HCCDC working closely with DOMA Group progressing each stage.

Newcastle Quay meets growing housing demand

The project's announcement won praise from the Housing Industry Association (HIA).

HIA Hunter executive director Craig Jennion described the final phase of Honeysuckle's redevelopment as a standout example of the large-scale, master-planned development needed to meet growing housing demand.

"Delivering around 1000 new homes in a well-connected, mixed-use precinct will make a meaningful contribution to housing supply in the Newcastle region," he said.

"The staged delivery of the Honeysuckle HQ over the next 15 years also provides the industry confidence to invest in skills, capacity, and innovation.

"It's this kind of forward planning that supports a strong and sustainable housing industry."

Meanwhile, the Newcastle Greens have welcomed plans for the development, but slammed the lack of social and affordable housing on the site.

"Once again, Chris Minns' promise of 30 per cent social and affordable housing when government land is developed means investment in Sydney, not in Newcastle," Cr Charlotte McCabe said.

"This is state-owned land located in Newcastle that will be sold off by the state government for development, and Novocastrians should be seeing the social return and housing for everyone.

"But once again, like Broadmeadow, our 30 per cent social and affordable housing quotas will head straight down the M1."

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