The area that we're looking at was once part of Sydney's working cargo docks. It acquired the name "the Hungry Mile" during the Depression when workers would line up in the hope of a day's backbreaking work which may damage their health in the longer term, but would put a bit of bread on the table for that night at least. The cargo docks have long since closed down, although for a significant amount of time this area was used for the berthing of cruise ships. They now generally make their way a bit further down the harbour to White Bay which is near... nothing in particular, so that passengers need to be ferried in to the city.
When it was decided to reconstruct the former dock area into a supposedly modern combination of residential and commercial usage (not to mention a high roller casino that one of the nation's wealthiest men just happened to get approved, all for the public benefit, of course), the area was rechristened Barangaroo after an aboriginal woman from settlement times who may or may not have had even the vaguest connection with this area. However it sounds culturally sensitive, and that's the important thing.
In any case, what we can see here is the beginning of the construction of the new buildings that are due to line the foreshore of the former dock lands. One advantage is that the construction company is one which has a pretty decent track record to date.
I shall continue to document the progress of this construction and in due course you'll be able to judge for yourself.
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Edit April 2025: I didn't do a great job of charting the construction of this area, though there will be a number of shots in my PAD galleries over the next couple of years.
The Barangaroo development itself... well, it could be worse. The bits that have been built, anyway. There is a Metro line stop at Barangaroo (the Metro not even having been a plan in 2014; it opened only in the last couple of years) which takes you to... pretty much nothing. Just bare patches of concrete covered ground used as car parks or improvised outdoor cinemas or... nothing at all. It's a walk of maybe half a klick to get to the actual Barangaroo development. There have been plans to build apartment blocks over the empty spaces but that's all they are at the moment; plans.
As for what the occupancy rate of the Barangaroo is... well, I'm not sure how many of the intended apartments have been built yet but as of the 2021 Census there were only 220 people living there. The office space would have been hit massively when Covid came along, especially with "work from home" continuing to be "sticky".
A site called Commercial Real Estate put it like this in early 2024:
"Lendlease’s Barangaroo assets have a 7 per cent vacancy rate as a result of the renewals, which was better than the Sydney CBD office vacancy rate of 12.2 per cent.
Notwithstanding Lendlease’s wins for its Barangaroo office space, the precinct may yet face further pressure as companies downsize or move elsewhere."
The tower with the Crown Casino was of course built. Let us all be grateful for the beneficent influence of Jamie Packer. Perhaps not quite everything went to plan, however. The overall rating for the luxury 5 star $700 minimum per night hotel connected to the casino is 4.1/5 on Google, 3.4 on Trip Advisor. Much of that is down to repeated reviews panning the service, as well as...
"I was expecting a luxurious stay. I was disappointed. Did not feel luxurious and not worth the price. I stayed in a studio room. The couch was stained. The bench at the end of the bed was torn and had seen better days..."
Then there was a little issue with governance of the casino back at the end of the 2010s. Just trivial things; overseas staff being arrested in China, allegations of criminal money laundering, the chairman sending threatening e-mails, directors who undertook zero training in anti-money laundering techniques (including ones on the risk committee) because hey, why would they? That sort of thing is beneath the cosy club of Australian public company directors, you know. It was just trivial stuff like that. And Jamie Packer himself?
The ABC had this to say:
"Quitting is one thing. Being forced out is an altogether different matter.
On a personal level, there's the humiliation and the inevitable recriminations. But when it comes to business transactions, it's a complete disaster.
Just ask James Packer. Besieged by personal, relationship and mental health issues, he's been trying to engineer an exit from his casino group Crown Resorts for years, desperately craving anonymity and a retreat from not just the corporate world, but the world at large."
Mmm. I'm sure he craves relief from the scrutiny. I'm less convinced that he wants relief from the power that his money provides to him. He "retired" from the chairmanship of Crown in 2018. And yet, again from the ABC (09 Feb 21):
"Australian billionaire James Packer has admitted giving instructions to Crown board members despite resigning from the casino giant months earlier.
...
Mr Packer stepped down from his role of Crown director in 2018, but despite selling a large portion of his shares, remains a major stakeholder.
He faced a second day of questions at the inquiry into Crown on Wednesday, including examinations into the amount of influence he held over the company after his resignation.
The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) is examining if Crown is fit to hold the licence for Sydney's new casino, which is set to open at the end of the year at Barangaroo.
The inquiry was shown emails from Mr Packer to Crown executives about proposals to sell parts of the company, reviewing annual figures and cost-cutting measures."
Who am I to criticise? I too would like to wield power without having any responsibility for it. Hey, wouldn't we all? There's nothing wrong with that. Hang on, give me a moment; my sarcasm bin is full.
As for the "construction company with a pretty decent track record" (which was Lendlease, ASX:LLC, as previously mentioned); well, it has had its share of controversies since then. Pre-Covid its share price was over $20. In November 2018 it announced a $350 million write down from its engineering and services division causing a fall of $AUD2.3 billion in the value of its shares. There was a consensus that Lendlease had overextended itself and that more losses may be on the way. That said, the share price had recovered to over $19 by the end of 2019, happy days! Oh, wait... what happened at the start of 2020? What thing that shut down a lot of building work across the country? Oh, yeah, that. By the end of 2020 the share price had recovered to around $14, but since then it has been on an almost 45 degree down angle, and as of the date of writing the price is $5.25. Bear in mind there have been some divestments along the way so the size of the company that you may buy shares in in 2025 is not the same size as the one that you bought shares in in 2018. But still... the total shareholder return is negative for 1, 3 and 5 years with it getting worse the closer to now you get.
Still, the buildings seem solid enough, I guess. As we will see in future shots. (Or maybe not if I get as bogged down in writing updates as I did on this shot...)
