Workers in the Honeysuckle area are returning after Easter to a parking headache.
The temporary car park at 21 Honeysuckle Drive was closed on Tuesday morning in preparation for work to start on the Lume development. The closure removes more than 250 car spaces from the busy west end of town.
Workers have been encouraged to use Newcastle City Council Park and Ride and public transport.
LUME DEVELOPMENT
MARCH 2, 2018 – Renee Valentine
Hunter Development Corporation (HDC) chief executive Michael Cassel has described the impending commencement of construction on Doma Group’s Lume apartments as “the next stage of evolution of the Honeysuckle precinct”.
Construction on the waterfront development at 21 Honeysuckle Drive is set to begin next month.
It will mean the closure of the temporary 257-space car park on the site and Mr Cassel encouraged commuters “to think about parking alternatives”, including using Newcastle City Council Park and Ride and public transport.
“Elevated design standards” would be delivered by Doma Group, according to Mr Cassel, who said the quick take-up of Lume apartments last year demonstrated “that people want to live in homes with superior architecture and in unparalleled waterfront locations”.
“Newcastle is in the middle of unprecedented growth and change,” Mr Cassell said.
“HDC is in a unique position to influence design standards through the sale process and I think the community will be really impressed with how 21 Honeysuckle Drive eventuates.
“The reality is, the Lume apartments sold out in a week …This is the beginning of the next stage of Honeysuckle, and I think people should be confident that the city is moving forward with dynamic design fit for a growing city.”
Lume hit the market last October and around $150 million was splashed in five days for all 154 residences in the complex.
Read more: Lume sells out in five days
“From my perspective it is about time and place. Newcastle is booming right now – investors want to get in and buy here – so we are in a stronger position to negotiate the outcome we most want to see,” Mr Cassel said.
“HDC’s role is to create new homes and jobs to drive the economy, but also to enhance and deliver great lifestyle. I think Lume is an example of this.”
We see Honeysuckle and the Bathers Way as premium waterfront destinations that will rival Eastern beaches walks, like the Bondi to Bronte coastal walk.
- Michael Cassel, Hunter Development Corporation chief executive
Lume will comprise 144 apartments, which will be a mix of one, two and three bedrooms, and 10 two-level town homes. Prices started at $450,000 for south-facing one-bedroom apartments and scaled up to between $2 million and $3 million for the town homes.
The complex will include an on-site concierge, infinity pool, gymnasium and residents’ meeting room as well as uninterrupted, never-to-be-built-out harbour views.
Buyers for the waterfront development were local, interstate and international.
Mr Cassel said the sale of Honeysuckle sites allowed HDC to “focus on the next exciting stage of Honeysuckle” and in the coming months it would be working with community and landscape consultants to create a public domain plan that stretches from Worth Place through to Fig Tree park.
“Over the years we have engaged with the community on public domain planning and we will do this again shortly as part of the process,” he said.
“It’s important we get this right, and now we also have new benchmarks for public spaces, like Market Street Lawn.
“We see Honeysuckle and the Bathers Way as premium waterfront destinations that will rival Eastern beaches walks, like the Bondi to Bronte coastal walk.”
A city-wide parking map for commuters can be found at www.revitalisingnewcastle.nsw.gov.au/parking.
