The NSW Government is building a new Powerhouse Museum on the bank of the Parramatta River, including over 19,000 square metres of exhibition space that will include seven exhibition and gallery spaces. The site covers an area of
The scope of the project includes:
- removal of existing buildings and trees, relocation of Willow Grove, and partial retention and fit-out of St George’s Terrace
- construction of two buildings (Eastern and Western, connected by a wide bridge-link) with a gross floor area of 24,000 metres squared for museum and ancillary uses, being:
- seven major public presentation spaces, studios, library and collaboration spaces
- 30 serviced apartments and a dormitory with 56 beds for students and five for teachers
- commercial kitchen, retail spaces, outdoor dining areas and other ancillary spaces
- an expanded Eastern building rooftop.
- vehicle servicing, coach pick-up/drop-off facilities, bicycle parking and road amendments, and
- public domain improvement including publicly accessible open spaces, landscaping and creation of a through-site link.
Construction of the Project has been staged as follows:
- Early Works – comprising demolition of existing structures on the site, tree removal, services diversions, archaeological testing and remediation. Early Works and Liberty Grove works were completed in late 2021.
- Willow Grove – comprising the deconstruction of Willow Grove and storage of the fabric. This stage was undertaken concurrently with the Early Works.
- Main Works – comprising the construction of the museum and the landscape following completion of both Early Works and Willow Grove.
The project is classified as a State Significant Development.
In 2015, the NSW Government initially announced that this project would relocate the existing Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo, with the sale of the old site to partly fund the new facility.
In July 2020, the NSW Government reversed this decision and announced that the existing facility would be retained and continue to operate in addition to the Parramatta facility. The current Powerhouse Museum site in Ultimo will continue to host an arts and cultural precinct and is subject to a $250 million upgrade.
Key Dates
| 2015 | Project Announcement |
| May 2018 | NSW Government funding of $645m announced |
| Oct 2020 | EOIs Open |
| Sep 2021 | Contract Award |
| Feb 2022 | Construction Commencement |
| 2024 | Expected Construction Completion |
| Jun 2025 | Operations/Service Commencement |
Funding contributions
| NSW Government |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Infrastructure NSW |
| Shortlist: | Lendlease, Multiplex and Richard Crookes Construction |
| Successful Tenderer: | Lendlease |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| 2015 | The NSW Government announced plans to relocate the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta in Western Sydney. |
| Jul 2017 | The location was secured with an agreement between the NSW Government and Parramatta Council. |
| Dec 2017 | The business case was completed by Infrastructure NSW. |
| Apr 2018 | The NSW Government released the summary business case and confirmed the powerhouse Museum would be completely relocated to Parramatta. |
| Jun 2018 | The NSW Government announced funding of $645 million in the 2018-19 Budget (this funding assumed the government would recoup $195 million from the sale of the Ultimo facility). |
| Jan 2019 | The NSW Government announced the start of the international design competition that will be undertaken for the new museum and master planning of the precinct, calling for expressions of interest. |
| Apr 2019 | The NSW Government announced it had purchased the Riverbank site for the new Powerhouse Precinct from the City of Parramatta, where the new Powerhouse Museum will be located. This will form part of a new arts and cultural hub on the Parramatta River. |
| May 2019 | Six design teams were announced as finalists in the international design competition. |
| Dec 2019 | Moreau Kusunoki and Genton announced as International Design Competition winner. |
| Jan 2020 | Department of Planning Industry and Environment Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) were requested for the purpose of preparing the EIS. |
| Feb 2020 | The project was assessed as a Significant State Development (SSD) and the Planning SEARs were issued. |
| May 2020 | The proponent submitted the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project. Also, the NSW Government confirmed that the relocation would proceed as planned. |
| Jun 2020 | The EIS was placed on Exhibition until 7 July. |
| Jul 2020 | The NSW Government announced that the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo will remain open and operate alongside the planned New Powerhouse Museum in Western Sydney. The NSW Government had previously planned to sell the current site at Ultimo for up to $195 million, with the proceeds to be contributed towards the cost of building the new museum at Parramatta. |
| Oct 2020 | The NSW Government called for Expressions of Interest for the main works contract, closing on 26 October 2020. |
| Nov 2020 | The NSW Government called for Expressions of Interest for the early works contract, closing on 20 November 2020. |
| Nov 2020 | The NSW Government's 2020-21 Budget allocated $270 million for the project in FY2020-21. |
| Dec 2020 | The NSW Government shortlisted three applicants for the project's construction. The shortlisted applicants are Lendlease, Multiplex and Richard Crookes Construction. |
| Feb 2021 | The NSW Government approved the development plans for the project and the early works contract was awarded to Liberty Industrial. |
| Feb 2021 | Consent for the Project was granted in State Significant Development (SSD) 10416 by the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces. |
| Jun 2021 | The 2021-22 NSW Budget provided continued funding towards the New Powerhouse Museum and the expansion of the Museum Discovery Centre in Castle Hill, with $156 million allocated in FY2021-22. The Budget also confirmed a total estimated cost of $840 million for the project, to be fully funded by the NSW Government. This represents an increase from a previous estimate of $825 million. |
| Aug 2021 | Ancillary works commence. |
| Sep 2021 | Main works contract awarded to Lendlease. |
| Dec 2021 | Early and ancillary works completed. |
| Jan 2022 | Lendlease began on site. |
| Feb 2022 | Main works commence. |
| Aug 2022 | Modification 1 of SSD 10416 was approved by Minister for Planning’s delegate on to expand the rooftop pavilion of the Eastern Building, partially demolish St Georges Terrace, fit-out and adaptively re-use St Georges Terrace, and to amend the timing of the Heritage Interpretation Plan. |
| Jan 2023 | The NSW Government issued a Request for Tenders for a Lead Designer for the New Powerhouse Museum, closing 15th February. |
| Apr 2023 | Exoskeleton installation commenced. |
Estimated Total Cost
(2017)
Sector
Social
Procurement approach
Traditional Procurement |
Location
New South Wales |
Resources
