Time after time — Local Paddo

Hoddle St, Paddington, 2022. Photograph by Trent van der Jagt

If you stood on Oxford St in 1993, you couldn’t have imagined that 30 years later you would be tracking buses in real time, paying for groceries on smartphones and listening to your kids worry about climate change.

It’s amazing the difference a few decades can make, even in a heritage suburb such as Paddington, where so much stays the same. As we poke our heads out from under the COVID-recovery covers, it’s time to ask what the next decade may have in store.

One question the pandemic raised was how our neighbourhoods can be reimagined to benefit the physical and mental wellbeing of the people who live in them. For Sydney-based urban planner Melissa Neighbour, the new gold standard is walkable villages, or the 15-Minute City; places where people can meet most of their basic needs — groceries, school and work — via a short walk or bike ride, minimising reliance on cars and public transport.

Neighbour says studies are showing that places where people can see friends in the street, walk for basic needs and reduce their commute are happier communities.

“We know that recognition of people’s facial expressions happens from about 25m away, so creating more spaces where people can linger and catch momentary glimpses of each other provide a connection that can lessen feelings of isolation,” she says.

“There will always be discussions around density and achieving the right mix in a way that’s sensitive to the existing community and heritage buildings.”

Paddington already ticks most of the 15-Minute City boxes. However, the convenience of our inner-city village life will continue to come at the cost of increasing demand to live here. In recent years, this has resulted in astronomical real estate price rises — the median price of a three-bedroom Paddington terrace is now $3.5 million — and a demographic shift to a wealthier, older and less diverse local population than in previous generations.

Shadforth St, Paddington, 1986. Image courtesy: City of Sydney

The demand for resources as people increasingly seek to buy into the Paddington lifestyle is also reflected in greater pressure to develop the last remaining vacant spaces and to redevelop existing dwellings and structures.

Preserving the authentic character of Paddington will be an ongoing challenge, say both NSW Member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, and Woollahra Council Paddington Ward councillor Harriet Price.

“The potential overdevelopment of the Edgecliff corridor is a real concern,” says Price. “Increased densification without supporting infrastructure will result in poor outcomes. We need to protect Paddington’s backyard, especially Trumper Park and Oval.”

Several huge developments are ongoing in the area, including the transformation of the White City tennis centre into a $65 million 'hub for sports and communal facilities, and a new home for Hakoah in Sydney’s eastern suburbs'. It’s one of a raft of projects that will transform the suburb during the next few years.

Greenwich agrees that progress will require a delicate balance. “It’s really important that Paddington in the future still looks like Paddington,” he says.

“Paddington is very much an ecosystem. You can’t impact one part of it without impacting all of it, so we really have to get it right.”

For Greenwich, the biggest challenge for the suburb is unlocking the potential of Oxford St. With its beautiful terraced shop fronts, Greenwich believes retail’s ‘Golden Mile’ of the 1980s and 90s will continue its cycle of restoration and reinvention.

“One of the big challenges of Oxford St is the dual councils,” Greenwich says, noting that the street is divided between the Woollahra Council on the northern side and City of Sydney on the southern side. “It’s really important they keep working together to maintain a joint vision and consistency across both local government areas.”

What to do with traffic on Oxford St is one issue of contention. Ask anyone what they think should happen to Oxford St’s traffic flow and you will get a wide range of opinions, from making it a clearway to closing it to traffic altogether.

But since the reopening of the Sydney Football Stadium on Moore Park Rd, there has been a renewed focus on reducing traffic in the neighbourhood, particularly on game days, and improving public transport to Paddington. Several options on the table include a long-debated light-rail system, electric buses, and a controversial proposed cycleway that would run from Taylor Square to Centennial Park.

Local identity Robby Ingham believes the proposed cycleway could breathe new life into the suburb. After 35 years on Oxford St as a retail tenant and now owner, he is passionate about reviving the precinct, suggesting pop-up ‘parklets’, less traffic and a bespoke mix of retail to reinvigorate Paddington’s daytime economy.

“Paddington has all the right ingredients, and the cycleway is an opportunity to put them all together in a new way,” he says.

Oxford St in 1996. Image courtesy: City of Sydney

Ingham opened his self-titled designer boutique on Oxford St in 1983 and is presently developing The Cambrian, a row of six shop-front terraces, built in 1888, that will be restored and re-offered as new retail spaces. Behind the terraces, Ingham also has approval to build 15 apartments on an empty piece of land accessible via Elizabeth Pl. Work on the development will start next year.

Ingham says his vision is to bring back the “butcher, baker and candlestick maker” vibe of Paddington village and to create more opportunities for residents and visitors to wander and linger around the suburb.

“If I can get the right artisan retailers with the right salami, prosciutto or cheeses, then people will come from Mosman and Parramatta,” he says. “They’ll do what people did during the heyday of the markets when coming to Paddington was a day out.”

Also requiring consideration is the huge sustainability upgrade the neighbourhood will need during coming years. From electric vehicle charging stations to smart homes and windows that convert sunlight into energy, the solutions of the future will reshape how we live here.

“Swapping over to renewable energy is going to be a challenge,” Neighbour says. “New builds are required to meet higher environmental standards, but the majority of our housing stock in Sydney is existing. Which means retro-fitting our homes in a sustainable way.”

With its well-preserved Victorian architecture, Paddington will need a tailored approach to sustainable electricity and managing the impacts of climate change. Interestingly, the reason urban planners such as Neighbour are designing more spaces that encourage community interaction is to help us weather the storms ahead.

Union St, Paddington, 1988. Image courtesy: City of Sydney

“As a species, we are going through a massive transition and the shortages of different resources are only going to increase,” Neighbour says. “But the stronger our communities are, the more resilient we’re going to be.”

According to Price, Paddington has a good track record in this space already.

“The Paddington Community Garden above the old quarry site at Trumper Park was one of the first established in the inner city and has grown organic produce sustainably for more than 13 years,” she says. “The greening of old dunny lanes is another fabulous community-led initiative that transformed our laneways into welcoming green urban spaces.”

Ingham believes Paddington has the potential to embrace the old and the new to create a bold future neighbourhood.

“I’ve seen areas in London and Europe transform simply by the right people doing the right things,” he says.

For Greenwich, the uniqueness and liveability of Paddington will drive its future. He believes preserving heritage from the past — such as the area’s historic pubs — will be key to unlocking a successful future.

“In 2035, I’d love to see the same number of pubs in the neighbourhood and even a few sites reactivated to be the pubs they once were,” Greenwich says. “Because it’s a really proud part of the Paddington legacy. My hope is that Paddington is still filled with the sounds of kids and remains a place where people can safely and conveniently raise their families.”

Hoddle St, Paddington, 2022. Picture: Trent van der Jagt

In the pipeline

The Paddington projects you need to know about.

The Cambrian

Oxford St

Robby Ingham’s retail and residential development will add six shops and 15 apartments to the Woollahra end of Oxford St in 2024.

25hours Hotel

Cnr Oxford & South Dowling Sts

The interior of the historic Grand Pacific Ballroom has been razed in preparation for the site becoming Australia’s first 25hours hotel. Run by French hospitality giant Accor, the hotel will include 105 rooms, a rooftop bar, courtyard, restaurants, cafés, shops and live performance facilities. It’s slated to open in 2023 but will likely be later.

Grand National Hotel

Underwood St

This grand heritage pub has been closed to make way for a restaurant and hotel complex overseen by seafood chef Josh Niland. Due to open in mid-2023. (See The Wrap, page 24.)

White City

Alma St

The old tennis complex is undergoing a $65 million transformation that will include 'a competition-standard soccer field, club and community building, enclosed multi-use courts (basketball, netball, futsal), learn-to-swim and outdoor pools, a large fitness centre, nine tennis courts, café, and community facilities for wellness, arts and culture'. Bulldozers moved into the space in spring, with the opening slated for late-2023, but it will probably be later.

Entertainment Quarter

Lang Rd, Moore Park

Plans for a residential tower and complex at the Entertainment Quarter have finally been quashed by the NSW Government but new plans are in development to change the design to a medium-density complex. This project has been in the planning for 20 years so expect no sudden movements.

Verona Cinema

Oxford St

A developer purchased this cornerstone cinema last year with the intention of raising its height to create a taller commercial property. The City of Sydney’s B2 Local Centre zoning states the site can house a mixed-use building including residential apartments or commercial suites. Nothing has happened yet. Let’s hope the cherished cinema remains a fixture.

Oxford & Foley

Oxford St, Darlinghurst

Developers Toga and Ashe Morgan are spending $200 million transforming three city blocks along Oxford St in Darlinghurst. Their ambitions were helped by City of Sydney, which last year changed planning regulations for Darlinghurst to allow the height restrictions on the buildings here to rise to five stories. The property is opening next year with Melbourne’s Lune Croissanterie one of the incoming tenants.

James St, Woollahra

Developer Fortis has secured a $50 million site to create a huge housing complex at the back of Woollahra.