Two apartment towers to replace Sydney Ice Arena

Carolyn Boyd

Sydney Ice Arena will make way for two apartment towers, restaurants and shops on the foreshore of Norwest Lake.

Capital Corporation is planning to replace the still-open ice rink with Esplanade, comprising 267 apartments, ground-floor north-facing restaurants and stores, and offices with concierge services.

The company has already developed more than 45 buildings in the Norwest business precinct.

Capital Corporation managing director Steve Grant says the project responds to the needs of the area’s 25,000 workers, many of whom want to live close to their employment.

Speed-skating at Sydney Ice Arena in 2005. The rink opened in 2002. Photo: Tim Clayton

Esplanade’s 1.2-hectare site is owned by the Hillsong Church and is less than 300 metres from the planned Norwest railway station.

There will be 267 apartments in Esplanade, spread across two towers 19 and 20 storeys high. The first 100 apartments are now on the market.

Among the potential buyers at Esplanade, Colliers International spokesman Curtis Field says, will be business owners operating out of Norwest. There will be seven four-bedroom apartments aimed at purchasers wanting to downsize from bigger homes in the region.

The architects on the project are Turner and the firm’s associate director, Kevin Driver, says Esplanade will be a “genuine local centre with a vibrant public space”. Every apartment will overlook a landscaped podium, the water or the surrounding district, he says.

Facilities will include a pool, rooftop gardens, an outdoor gym, cabanas, a cinema, barbecues and – for keen golfers – a putting green.

The Ice Arena’s management has previously said the rink, which was opened in 2002, will be relocated to a new site once Esplanade’s construction nears.