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Sydney by Crown: Skittle Lane Revamp is Part of the Plan

Skittle Lane, part of the city since the 1880s, is getting luxurious mixed use makeover

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Skittle Lane will be the street-level focal point of the 220-apartment Sydney by Crown development.

Crown Group
Skittle Lane will be the street-level focal point of the 220-apartment Sydney by Crown development.
Crown Group

Sydney will gain another gentrified laneway with the creation of a retail, cafe and restaurant precinct around historic Skittle Lane, part of the Sydney by Crown apartment development. The laneway revamp by Crown Group comes as developers increasingly seek to differentiate and market apartment projects with unique amenities. Construction will start this year on the 220-apartment Sydney by Crown, which sits between two of Sydney’s busiest pedestrian streets, Kent and Clarence. More: Vancouver, Miami and Sydney Lead Luxury-Price Growth Crown will create a laneway between the two streets. Skittle Lane, part of the city since the 1880s, will then be extended to meet that laneway. The laneway will have nine ground-floor retail spaces that are expected to house restaurants, cafes and boutique retail. It will also maintain its historic features, including trachyte blocks, a natural material quarried at Bowral and used in prominent 19th-century Sydney buildings. Group national development director Pierre Abrahamse says Crown wanted to tap into existing foot traffic and maximize activation of the space but was also inspired in part by Melbourne’s famous laneways. “We see Sydney by Crown’s laneway as an opportunity for Sydney to put its own unique stamp on the laneway scene, and public art will be incorporated,” he says. “Although Melbourne is traditionally known for its laneways and street arcades, Sydney does have existing streetscapes that embrace this concept. Ash Street and Angel Place, for example, behind the Ivy, have been popular laneway destinations in Sydney that take on a ‘European street-fair’ feel.” Ray White CBD residential director Michael Lowdon says many laneways in Sydney are not friendly places. “Any redevelopment is probably good for the area and good for Sydney,” he says. “It’s a positive thing.” Abrahamse says the laneway development is appealing to buyers, who have been “drawn to the idea the laneway will create a cafe and retail area tucked away from busy Clarence and Kent Streets and create a Parisian-chic atmosphere”. “Most future residents have the view that the laneway will be great place to relax over a coffee, shop or simply enjoy the pace of the city in a relaxed space. People like to be able to have something unique they can associate with a building.” More: Australia Orders More Foreign Homeowners to Sell Crown, he says, has also incorporated “through-site links” at its other developments including Viking by Crown at Waterloo, Skye by Crown in North Sydney, and its Crown Green Square development. Sydney by Crown will be completed in late 2017. This article was originally published on The Australian