The Royal Far West development officially began construction on Manly beachfront last Friday. So what can locals expect ?
The completed project will erect a five-storey and eight-storey building, fit with 58 private apartments, accommodation for country families as well as a blend of retail, commercial and lifestyle-related spaces.
Chair of Royal Far West, Joan Treweeke said the charity is unsure of who will occupy the commercial spaces, but it will be “relevant to their work and residents of the building”.
“There’ll be the accommodation for the families that come, which will refurbish and add to this Drummond house. And then in the new building, there’ll be various retail and commercial activities of which we may be able to share”, Ms Treweeke said.
“Early days yet, but there’ll be some affinity with the work we do, and I suppose the value of the site and the people who are living in the apartments.”
Royal Far West will retain 14 of the waterfront apartments built for charity use, the rest will be sold for private use on a 99-year lease, with some already off the market.
Multiplex was appointed as the construction partner for the RFW Neighbourhood in February this year.
The construction company estimates the development should be completed in about two years, with work on the actual structure of the building beginning in the next few months.
Darren Marshall, the Multiplex Construction Manager for the RFW development, says the noise emitted by the project is unavoidable but regular road traffic around the block should be well regulated.
“There’ll be no road obstructions. We’ve had a traffic plan in place that we’ve agreed with the Northern Beaches Council, we have a noise and vibration management plan that we’ve signed off with the stakeholders and the council as well… we’ve had dozens of meetings with the community, and presentations to them only just concluded this week,” Mr Marshall explained.
“There will be some noise, but they should from day to day, there should be no impact to their normal life.”
The construction kicked off with a Smoking Ceremony and sod-turning ceremony, with multiple members of the community in attendance as well as those involved such as the RFW board, Northern Beaches Council and Member for Warringah, Zali Steggall.
Architects, Glenn Murcutt and Angelo Candalepas, were also in attendance to see the next part of their project finally begin.
The first phase of the redevelopment plan was approved in 2013 which saw the completed construction of the Centre for Child Health and Learning at 14-18 Wentworth St in 2018.
This final phase of the plan was also introduced over ten years ago but received public controversy when it included a 165-room hotel proposed for the site.
The revised Development Application known as ‘Our Place Vision’, instead includes 58 private apartments with commercial and retail space for the public, now in construction.
Royal Far West has been operating in Manly for almost 100 years, providing accommodation, vital health care and support to country children who are unable to access these services in their rural areas.
Manly Observer has previously covered the history of Royal Far West extensively.
In the last decade, the number of families supported by RFW has risen exponentially
with a 69 per cent increase in beneficiaries in 2023 alone.
Royal Far West CEO Jacqueline Emery has already expressed the new developments are not a ‘cash grab’ or commercially-focused venture but will ensure future-proofing the charity for another 100 years.
Want to know more ? There is a dedicated website for the project here.
