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Sydney Explained, Punchbowl Road, Sydney (2026)

24/06/2026

THE COMPASS CENTRE (1964) TO BE DEMOLISHED. 📍Bankstown.
The Compass Centre in Bankstown opened with great fanfare in 1964, when a visiting 18-year-old Liza Minnelli and her then-boyfriend Peter Allen, were officially crowned the “Queen” and “King” of the shopping plaza.

The Compass Centre is a brick and concrete, mid 20th century modern structure. It features a traditional layout of small local specialty stores, and anchors like a supermarket. It was intentionally structured as a commercial thoroughfare linking the Bankstown Railway Station directly to the civic district.

The original layout reflected the era’s growing focus on car travel. Parking lots wrapped around the rear of the centre. Over the decades, this layout aged poorly, creating isolated pedestrian links and a building that was labeled as out of touch with modern, foot-traffic-heavy transit hubs.

When the Bankstown Square opened nearby in 1966, it immediately began draining retail traffic away from the centre which could not compete with a modern mega-mall, leading to a slow decline retail tenants.

By the 2000s, the building layout lacked modern accessibility, energy efficiency, and the spatial requirements needed for modern retail anchors.

The site became highly valuable for its rezoning potential rather than its existing building. This sparked a cycle of property speculation that left the building in limbo. To prepare for demolition, remaining long-term commercial tenants were converted to flexible, short-term monthly holdover leases. This forced many businesses to move out, resulting in high vacancy rates and a “ghost town” appearance.

The Bankstown Compass Centre redevelopment officially received Development Application approval in February 2026.
The approved scheme allows for the demolition of the Compass Centre, and the construction of a 5-storey retail podium supporting three towers including: Two 24-storey residential towers providing 339 dwellings, planned under a Build-to-Rent (BTR) model; and, One 19-storey hotel tower featuring 169 hotel rooms and a dedicated function centre.

*All renders sourced from PTW; all site photos taken by

22/06/2026

TWIN TOWERS PLANNED FOR LAVENDER BAY 📍 64-66 Lavender St & 3-7 Middlemiss St
The development proposal for the site is seeking approval for a dual-tower residential project on a 2305 square metre site currently occupied by 32 ageing residential apartments. The proposal, designed by SJB, would deliver towers of 23 and 32 storeys, including seven affordable housing apartments.

The architect described the development as a “unifying element” between Lavender Bay and the North Sydney CBD, and said it would contribute to the skyline, public realm and future housing supply. The developer’s planning material also argues the site is well placed for additional housing because of its proximity to Milsons Point transport infrastructure.

The plans include five basement levels with 174 car spaces, 181 bicycle spaces and 10 motorcycle spaces. The project also includes more than 1500 square metres of communal open space, almost 400 square metres of indoor communal facilities, landscaped podium areas, swimming pool facilities, barbecue areas, resident retreat spaces, a public plaza and a pocket park.

The existing low-rise flats at 66 Lavender Street and Middlemiss Street were built in the c.1930 and, unlike many properties in the North Sydney council area, they not listed as a heritage site or within a conservation area

The proposal has drawn scrutiny and feedback from local residents regarding scale and overshadowing.

The State Significant Development Application (SSD-86797708) is currently on exhibition, details can be viewed directly on the NSW Planning Portal.

*All renders sourced from SJB Architects; all site photos taken by Sydney by Simon in June 2024

21/06/2026

PUNCHBOWL STATION PUBLIC PLAZA OPENS 🚆
The new public plaza at Punchbowl Station has officially opened to the community, delivering a modern and transformed public space as part of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest upgrade

The design aims to blend the 125-year-old railway corridor with a modern urban renewal precinct. It replaces what was previously described as a dark and dingy landing with a bright, welcoming entry point designed to better connect the local precinct.

A key upgrade feature is the enhanced station entries and modern facade panelling on the northern and southern forecourts, which creates a striking urban profile.

The pedestrian pathway and underpass beneath Punchbowl Road have been widened and improved with brighter lighting to boost local foot traffic and safety.

Active transport interchanges have been improved with the integration of new bicycle parking loops, dedicated taxi ranks, and safe “kiss and ride” drop-off bays.

The new space also includes pocket-sized green spaces layered with resilient native shade trees, public benches, and anti-slip paving.

The concourse features a First Nations art piece on the glass enclosure.,“Life/Blood: resistance and resilience” honours the history of Aboriginal trade routes connecting the Cooks and Georges Rivers through Punchbowl.

Upgraded dual high-capacity lifts have been installed to connect the new street-level plaza straight to the newly re-levelled metro platforms

The design ties into the City of Canterbury Bankstown’s long-term master plan, aligning future mid-to-high-rise residential zoning close to the station while rejuvenating the surrounding high-street village economy.

Sydney South-West is expected to open in October.

19/06/2026

THE LONE SURVIVING SINGLE-STOREY HOUSE 🏡 📍16 Walker Street Rhodes
The solitary single-storey house in Rhodes has become a beloved local landmark. It’s the last freestanding house in Rhodes West, completely surrounded by towering modern apartment developments.

The home is often compared to the iconic house from the animated film Up. It has firmly withstood relentless pressure from developers over the years.

Long before the high-rise boom, Walker Street was a quiet suburban street. The single-storey brick home and most of the surrounding houses were constructed in the 1930s. The local residents worked at the industrial factories on the Rhodes waterfront and Homebush Bay.

The apartment boom and de-industrialisation of the suburb began in the 1990s. Rhodes was rapidly transformed into a high-density, mixed-use activity centre, the surrounding low-density housing was steadily replaced by contemporary multi-story apartment towers. Number 16 became a prominent outlier.

By 2025, the 676-square-metre block was considered a prime, rare development site. At auction it sold for a record-breaking $8.15 million. The buyer acquired the single-family home to develop a commercial property, with the site slated for a hotel rather than a residential apartment block.

18/06/2026

HENRY DEANE PLAZA TO BE DEVELOPED INTO STUDENT HOUSING 📍20-30 Lee Street, Haymarket.
The Henry Deane Plaza student housing proposal seeks to adaptively reuse the existing commercial buildings into a massive co-living and student accommodation precinct.

Henry Deane Plaza is a commercial and retail precinct located between Railway Square and the Devonshire Street Tunnel entrance of Central Station, which was completed in 2001. It was mainly used for State Government offices.

Frasers Property and Dexus purchased the buildings and originally planned a massive $3 billion, multi-tower office development named “Central Place Sydney”. The development would have been a key building in the Tech Central vision for the Railway Square Precinct.

Due to shifts in CBD commercial office demand, Frasers scrapped their portion of the office hub dream to address Sydney’s critical shortage of affordable student rooms.

The new development focuses on the adaptive reuse of the existing Henry Deane Plaza Building and Gateway Building, with design plans to convert the towers into 554 co-living rooms yielding roughly 692 student beds. The room configuration features a blend of standalone studios, twin studios, and multi-bedroom cluster “share” layouts.

The street-level retail and public thoroughfares, will undergo major public domain upgrades to integrate the heavy foot traffic flowing from Central Station and the Devonshire Street tunnel.

The project is currently working through the State Significant Development (SSD) application process. It has moved through its formal environmental and public exhibition phases where community submissions and agency advice are being evaluated by NSW Planning before final determination.

*all rendered images sourced from Nettleton Tribe architects; all site photographs taken by Sydney by Simon in June 2026

17/06/2026

MARLBOROUGH HOUSE/ FORMER DAVID JONES WAREHOUSE TO BE DEVELOPED INTO HOUSING. 🏭 📍 47–97 Marlborough Street, Surry Hills
The former David Jones warehouse in Surry Hills is being transformed into a $400–500 million residential complex by developer Time & Place. The heritage-listed building will feature approximately 150 warehouse-style apartments and 26 affordable dwellings.

In 1914 David Jones Department Store constructed the new factory on the Surry Hills site. It was designed by architects Power and Adam and at the time was the largest factory built for a department store in Australia. The factory was designed to produce a large range of high-grade goods and facilitated the manufacture of underclothing, tea gowns, costumes, men’s and boy’s suits, laundering, printing as well as box, trunk and bag-making.

Between 1920 to 1930 the Marlborough Street factory made David Jones 2.5 million pounds worth of clothing. The factory was extended with a three-storey addition in 1935. It remained in use by David Jones into the 1970s. The building is currently used as offices.

The former factory remains a largely intact example of early twentieth-century Chicagoesque industrial architecture adapted for
contemporary commercial use.

The redevelopment of the former factory will include a four level addition, constructed above the existing building on the central portion of the site. A new residential flat building will be constructed on the northern portion of the site. Heritage conservation works will be undertaken on the existing building as it is adapted to residential use. A retail tenancy will be placed on ground level on the corner of Marlborough Street and Landsdowne Street. Completion for the development is slated for 2029.

*All rendered images sourced from Wardle Architects; historical photographs sourced from State Library of NSW; all site photography taken by Sydney by Simon in June 2026.

15/06/2026

AKAI BUILDING (1974) TO BE DEMOLISHED 📍St Leonards.
The “Akai Building” in St Leonards is a prominent 12-storey commercial tower on the Pacific Highway. It is well-known for its Brutalist architecture, its decade-long vacancy, and the iconic, weathered Akai billboard remaining atop the roof.

The building was constructed in 1974 to the design of architects Kerr and Smith, and was purpose built as offices for Sims Metal. It is a classic example of Brutalist architecture, characterised by heavy, blocky masses and its “exposed aggregate” (rough, rocky concrete) exterior.

The building’s most famous feature is the signage belonging to Akai, once a giant Japanese manufacturer of consumer electronics and professional audio equipment. Even after the company folded and split in the early 2000s, the billboard was left largely untouched.

Over the past decade, the commercial building has sat completely vacant and boarded off to the public, blending into a wave of unused older office spaces in the St Leonards CBD.

Because of changing commercial needs and a booming demand for residential space, developers have secured approval to demolish the old Akai building to make way for a 50-story residential tower. The iconic building’s days are numbered with demolition scaffolding expected to be erected any day now. Photographed and captured before it disappears into Sydney history.

14/06/2026

111 CASTLEREAGH STREET COMPLETION 📍Former David Jones Menswear Store
The 111 Castlereagh residential tower development in the Sydney CBD is officially now complete and welcoming residents.

The prominent building features a rich, multi-layered history that spans nearly nine decades, evolving from a major retail landmark into a modern architectural achievement

The site began its legacy when David Jones opened its premier Menswear Store on the corner of Market and Castlereagh streets in 1938. The building was designed in the Interwar Functionalist style, and featured a distinctive curved “ocean-liner” facade crafted from classic Hawkesbury sandstone and travertine. The opening of the store attracted 100,000 customers on its very first day of trade.

Just three years after opening, the building was requisitioned to support the World War II effort. The department store was handed over to the government’s Ministry of Munitions. The top floor was repurposed as an exclusive recreational club for American soldiers. In 1946, the site reopened as a commercial store.

After more than 80 years of continuous retail operation, David Jones officially vacated the mid-city block in 2020. The landmark structure was subsequently purchased in a joint venture by developer Cbus Propertyand retail giant Scentre Group.

Architectural firm fjcstudio took on the challenge of transforming the heritage asset into a high-end mixed-use precinct. The engineering team inserted six massive black mega-columns straight through the heritage structure. These columns bear the weight of the new residential levels, allowing the bronze, curvilinear residential tower to visually “hover” above the sandstone base without loading weight onto the 1938 framework.

The original David Jones podium was hollowed out to include a grand central atrium with glass skylights, paving the way for premium office space at 121 Castlereagh and an expansion of the Westfield Sydney luxury precinct. Chanel has become the anchor tenant of the retail precinct with a massive three-storey boutique.

12/06/2026

ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS CELEBRATES 210 YEARS TODAY 🌴🌵🌿🌳
On 13 June 1816, Governor Lachlan Macquarie and his wife Elizabeth officially celebrated the completion of Mrs Macquaries Road in Sydney, an event now universally observed as the Foundation Day of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.

Because this enclosed area of the Governor’s Domain was subsequently developed and planted, the completion of this road is celebrated as the birth of Australia’s oldest scientific institution and botanic gardens.

Before European arrival, the area was known as Woccanmagully. It was an integral, resource-rich coastal region for the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, who used the bay for spearing fish and gathering plants.

When the First Fleet arrived in 1788, the Governor’s demesne became the location for early European attempts at food crops. The poor soil made it a disastrous agricultural site, nearly ruining the struggling colony.

Governor Lachlan Macquarie formally established the Botanic Gardens, integrating them with the Governor’s Domain. Early superintendents like Charles Fraser and Allan Cunningham used the space to trial grapevines and Australian rainforest trees.

Under long-serving director Charles Moore (1848–1896), the gardens were redesigned into a Victorian landscape. It even briefly housed an aviary and zoo between 1862 and 1883 before the animals were relocated to Moore Park.

The institution officially gained the “Royal” prefix in 1959 to celebrate its long-standing scientific and horticultural contributions.

In 2016, the garden’s contemporary glasshouse, The Calyx, opened in the Upper Garden to replace the former Tropical Pyramid, housing one of the largest green walls in the Southern Hemisphere.

Today, the garden serves as an important research facility, housing over 27,000 plants. It is administered by the Botanic Gardens of Sydney alongside its sister sites at Mount Annan (Australian PlantBank) and Mount Tomah (Blue Mountains).

10/06/2026

“MERAILDREY” (1913) 🏡 📍Huntleys Point
An early 20th-century classic marine-villa home known as “Meraildrey” which sits on a sandy waterfront-aligned land parcel at Huntleys Point.

It was built by master builder George Hubert Holliday, and was completed during the development of the 1913 Huntleys Point Estate.

The name “Meraildrey” is a portmanteau derived from Holliday’s three daughters: Meryl, Ailsa, and Audrey.

Designed in the mode of a marine villa, the two-storey brick residence is set on a sandstone block base, and features a tiled gabled and hipped roof. The descending banks feature original sandstone terracing, historically serving the property’s riparian boundaries which included a closed sea bath and boat shed.

Huntleys Point was mostly a sleepy, residential marine suburb until the 1960s. Between 1960 and 1964, the construction of the Gladesville and Tarban Creek Bridges and their expressway approaches dramatically decimated the suburb. Many historic estates, such as Ethelstane (built by Alfred Stafford Huntley), were obliterated to make way for the new infrastructure.

Meraildrey which is directly under the shadow of the Gladesville Bridge, is one of the rare, intact remnants of the suburb’s early waterfront development before the area was bisected and forever altered by modern bridges.

Sydney Explained

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