The Newcastle East End development presented a unique opportunity to reinvent the East End precinct within the second largest city in NSW, Newcastle. The masterplan for Newcastle East End compromises 4 stages, with each stage covering a city block.
The residential and retail component of the development was completed in early 2021, comprising of 3 residential buildings with 207 residential apartments and ground floor retail surrounding a civic square in the centre of the development. The civic square is serviced by newly created lane ways which is used by both residents and surrounding community.
The retail amenity surrounding the civic square includes Woolworths first regional Metro store, cafes & restaurants, regional and national banking branches, an artisanal cellar and specialty retail.
The 5 star, 104 room QT Newcastle Hotel is due to launch in April 2022.
To ensure Stage 1 was a success and set a benchmark for all future city developments, Iris Capital compiled an expert team of expert architects, designers, engineers and planners to collaborate and achieve a development that is characterful, viable and sustainable.
To take advantage of the sites unique and steeply undulating topography, Iris identified early in the design to locate the parking requirements within a 2 level basement, which is very unusual for developments in Newcastle. By designing and constructing a basement car park and overcoming the issue of mine subsidence and significant water ingress due to the location near the Hunter River, it enabled the civic square, retail tenancies, residential and hotel lobbies to connect to the ground floor and intersect at key points within the surrounding movement network.
In addition to the difficulties in constructing the basement, Iris Capital elected to retain the elaborate facades of the 4 existing buildings and merge the old with the new in a seamless fashion.
