There’s been a trickle of new openings and announcements at the harbour end of town as we move ever closer to the day the Randwick to Circular Quay light rail line begins its services (expected to happen sometime in December). Merivale has got in on the action, with a drip-feed of fresh venues at its Ivy Precinct, while the Campbell’s Stores dining area at The Rocks is set to give us a clutch of new restaurants in the coming months. Joining them in the final part of next year will be the just-announced Quay Quarter Lanes dining, retail and residential precinct.

It’s part of the Quay Quarter development, which will encompass two city blocks and include a 50-storey tower that’s due for completion in 2022. Quay Quarter Lanes will be set between Young and Loftus streets, reworking old merchant laneways with more than 20 new restaurants, cafes, stores and bars that will be open 18 hours a day, seven days a week. Once complete, the entire Quay Quarter development will have more than 50 spots to eat, drink, dine and shop, as well as 106 apartments, one acre of open space and a plethora of office space.

Also part of the development is Hinchcliff House on Young Street. The heritage-listed mid-19th-century wool store (one of only two of its kind remaining in Sydney) will be occupied by a four-level restaurant run by Hip Group, an Auckland-based hospitality company. While details are scarce, the restaurant will focus on sustainability, seasonality and locally sourced produce. The nearby Gallipoli Memorial Club will also be revitalised.

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The 50-level building, designed by Danish architecture firm 3XN (also behind the new Sydney Fish Market, will have five separate “quarters” stacked on top of one another, each with its own atrium and terrace to create a more intimate working experience.

AMP Capital, which is managing the development, has also commissioned Sydney-based Wiradjuri/ Kamilaroi artist Jonathan Jones to craft a site-specific work for the area.

Quay Quarter Lanes is slated to open in quarter four, 2020. Quay Quarter Tower is set to open in quarter three, 2022.

quayquartersydney.com.au