Redfern Archives - Page 9 of 11

Bart Jr in Redfern Reinvents With a Lockdown Menu

“Necessity is the mother of invention.” Bart Jr has grasped the wisdom of this statement as it reinvents and innovates its lockdown menu to thrive in Redfern amidst the pandemic.

In the last few weeks, this small neighbourhood bar on Pitt Street has been serving up extraordinary takeout food and creative deals that distinguish itself from other eateries.

The star of Bart Jr’s latest food offering is this creamiest rock lobster roll, filled with delicious chunks of lobster meat from the coast of Western Australia and king prawns from the Clarence River. Beautifully set on buttered and grilled hotdog buns with tarragon, chive, horseradish and lettuce, a bite of this delightful sandwich will transport you to the salty breezes and warmness of the beach even while you’re stuck at home.

The rock lobster rolls are pre-ordered and served for takeout during the weekends only. Bart Jr owner George Woodyard had the intention of offering the sandwich as a one-off but feedback from customers online convinced him to include the choice for its lockdown menu. Mr Woodyard also offers a Bart Lobster Roll Picnic Pack for five people for $250.

For vegan foodies, Bart Jr introduced the biggest and juiciest Shroom Burger in early September. It comes with portobello mushroom, roasted in our fermented chilli butter, w Swiss cheese, green goddess Mayo, white onion, on a warm milk roll.

For easy pasta meals to prepare at home, Bart Jr has created a line of heat-at-home options.

Bart Jr shares the latest limited menu and weekly deals on its Instagram page, where customers may also DM for orders. Pick up is every Thursday to Saturday between 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m. at the Bart Mart, a special takeaway window.

Redfern Station Upgrades: Platform Excavation, Piling Work Continue at North Eveleigh and Marian Street

Improvement work continues at the Redfern Station to provide all commuters with better accessibility and connection between stations. Excavation, piling and installation work are ongoing at Platforms 1 and 2/3, as well as sections of North Eveleigh and Marian Street.

Noise and temporary closures of pedestrian access will be expected as materials and equipment are brought in and out of the site. However, disruptions may also arise based on current public health orders.

In July, Redfern Station construction activities were paused for at least two weeks in accordance with the NSW Government lockdown orders. Upon the resumption of work, all people at the worksite have been ascribing to the state’s COVID-19 requirements and will continue to observe these safety and preventive measures.

Meanwhile, upgrades to the Redfern Station in the following weeks will deliver these outcomes:

Remaining bridge beam installation across Platforms 1 to 6
Service route and drainage installation across platforms
Excavation and piling on Platform 1
Relocation work on the heritage building on Platform 1
Changes to overhead wiring
Various signalling works
Delivery and removal of plant, equipment and materials

By September, the construction of a new shared zone on Little Eveleigh Street will begin, impacting the thoroughfare between Wilson Street and Ivy Lane. Powerlines may be temporarily shut down as modifications will be undertaken in collaboration with Ausgrid.

Completion of the Redfern Station upgrades is earmarked for 2022. For more information and enquiries about this project, email projects@transport.nsw.gov.au or phone 1800 684 490.

Gibbons Street Affordable Housing Now Ready for Occupancy

A new 18-storey residential development on Gibbons Street in Redfern, which has been built on the former site of the City of Sydney depot, has 40 social and 120 affordable housing units ready for occupancy.

The residential tower is under St George Community Housing (SGCH), which will also establish its new office on the Redfern site.

Centrally located near shopping centres and transportation depots, the SGCH community housing has received an 8.3 rating with the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme. Designed by DKO Architecture, the dwelling offers mixed one, two, and three-bedroom units with 27 homes for people with disabilities.

Because of the location of the residential tower, 25 percent of the units are also meant for Aboriginal families. To reflect the cultural and historical significance of the location, the Gibbon Street building has incorporated the work of Joe Hurst, an Indigenous artist who is aligned with the Boomali Aboriginal Artists Cooperative.

The tower has a rooftop garden for residents to enjoy the view as they gather and socialise. A playground on the ground floor enables the kids to have plenty of outdoor time in a safe and secured environment.

The development, however, doesn’t have any parking spaces since it’s within walking distance to the Redfern train station. There are 92 bike spaces directly outside the lobby.

Gibbons Street is environmentally sustainable with a 50kW solar array, roof-mounted fans in all apartments, and double-glazed windows that can adapt to changing thermal qualities throughout the year.

“I have watched Gibbons Street being built from the ground up and from the start of construction, it’s been really heart-warming knowing that people from my [Aboriginal] community might be placed there,” Tevita, one of the residents said.

Redfern Advocate The RAB Movement Sources Fresh Produce Supplies through Innovative App

The RAB Movement, a newly-launched Redfern advocacy group, has discovered a more convenient way to source fresh produce supplies to donate to families in need across Sydney during the lockdown.

Founder Lisa Mundine, a Wiradjuri/Bundjalung woman born in Redfern, has been using Bright Sparge’s Share And Share Alike app to ensure the deliveries of food hampers to 300 families every week so they won’t have to worry about their next meal.

Ms Mundine said that the Share And Share Alike app, developed by Charbel Yamouni in 2020 due to the long lockdown in Melbourne, has been a promising tool as it allowed The RAB Movement to provide for more people despite the extended restrictions in NSW.

Her advocacy, which was established in June 2021 or weeks before Sydney entered into a lockdown, relieves families of the pressures of thriving in this challenging period.

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A post shared by @the_rab_movement

Ms Mundine acknowledges that their work is not the whole solution to the problem of food security but extending support is their small way of keeping vulnerable communities optimistic. In the last two decades, she has also help network Indigenous Australian people and businesses for employment opportunities, projects, or supplies.

On the other hand, Yamouni, who also distributes food supplies and basic items like clothes and toiletries, was motivated to come up with the app to reduce the problems of distributing perishable goods. He said that many establishments are willing to donate or support but do not have the logistics for distribution and collection.

The app partners with both donors and charity groups to take care of the logistics across the country. To date, the initiative has matched over 2,000 donations for 160 charities, providing another solution to curbing food waste.

To learn about the app or support their advocacies, follow Bright Sparge’s updates on Facebook and keep tabs of The RAB Movement’s activities on Instagram.

Bistro St Jacques in Redfern Brings Back Chic Parisienne Delivery Service

Miss the feeling of sitting down inside a restaurant to share a satisfying culinary experience with your family or friends over a bottle of wine? If you’re tired of the usual takeaway, Bistro St Jacques in Redfern has revived its “Bistro on a Bike” food delivery service during Sydney lockdown.

The French bistro along Pitt Street will bring a French-inspired feast to your home via a provincial Parisienne-inspired bicycle with cute baskets.

For $75, you can enjoy a set three-course meal that includes the entrée, main dish, and dessert, or you can pick á la carte from the restaurant’s lockdown menu.

Photo Credit: Bistro St Jacques/Facebook

Highlights

Bistro St Jacques reactivates its Bistro on a Bike delivery service.
For $75, you can enjoy a three-course French culinary dining experience at your home or choices from their á la carte menu.
Delivery covers areas around the five-kilometre radius.
Orders must be placed 24-hours in advance.

Bistro St Jacques offers some of its highly-recommended staples for delivery, such as the pan-roasted duck breast with swede and potato puree, red cabbage jam and spiced honey red wine, or the popular steak-frites with organic potatoes and a choice of sauce option for Café de Paris butter or Poivrade (pepper).

Choices of cheese and desserts are also available and should be complemented with wine. (See Wine List)

“Most of our wines are made by small handcraft producers who practice organic and or biodynamic growing and range from ‘classical’ to a more ‘natural, low fi’ hand-off approach in the shed.”

Bistro on a Bike also serves daily specials and two types of banquet meals for groups of six people so don’t forget to ask about these offers when you place your orders by calling 0478 705 704.

The restaurant delivers at dinner time every Wednesday through Sunday within the five-kilometre of Redfern. Orders must be placed at least 24 hours a day in advance.

Best Bars to Tap For Boozy Deliveries In and Around Redfern

When going to a bar is not an option during a lockdown, the best thing to do is to tap some of the city’s best boozy deliveries. Fortunately, there are a few establishments in and around Redfern that offer this convenience and they have some great cocktails in bottles as well!

Redfern Surf Club

First on the list is the Redfern Surf Club on Botany Road. This bar was one of the first establishments to launch its innovative cocktail party bags during the pandemic first wave in mid-2020 with flavours like Watermelon Margarita or Life is Peach that come in an easy pour and no mess packaging. Just pop these cocktails in the freezer and it’s ready to drink in a few hours.

Redfern Surf Club also delivers cocktails in bottles, freshly made and ready to pour. Their bestselling products are the Spicy Margarita, Espresso Martini and Negroni. Make sure to order in advance as the supplies run out fast.

Re-

The newly-opened bar and restaurant on Locomotive Street has introduced new flavours on their drink list as Sydney’s lockdown has been extended for another week. Take a pick from these exciting concotions — the Orchard Gimlet (Coconut Oil Gin, Strawberry and Peppermint Gum, Green Apple Whey), the Cherry Ripe Old Fashioned (Plantation 3 Star, Cacao, Cacoa Butter, Raspberry, Peach Stone) and 50 Shades of Gruyere (Mushroom Cognac, Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz, Gruyere, Sweet Vermouth).

Re- is also widening their delivery coverage within the nine kilometres around South Eveleigh and could even ship interstate for online orders. If you don’t need a drink but you need a gift idea, they’ve got heaps of cocktails and wine for drink lovers with discerning taste buds.

PS40

About 3.5 kilometres away from Redfern is PS40, known for elevating the way Sydneysiders enjoy their booze. For this “snap lockdown,” PS40 is offering a special edition “snap pack box” that contains three 250ml bottles to make your boozy deliveries easier — just click to order!

The snap pack box has:

Zeneca Zombie (Coconut infused glenfiddich, rums, grapefruit, lime, rhubarb, grenadine, spices, whey)
The Full Bergamonty (Reyka vodka, allspice, fresh bergamot rind, mandarin, coriander seed, agave, whey)
Glady’s Gimlet (Hendrick’s gin, lime, lime oils & freshly grated makrut lime zest)

Continental Deli & Bistro

Though more of a deli and bistro than a bar, this shop in Newtown, which is about an 11-minute car ride through Abercrombie Street in Redfern, has a Sydney drink-lover must-have: the Continental Deli martinis in tin can and the Cosmopoli-Tin (vodka, cranberry, sherry, orange liqueur and water). They’ve had these cocktails to-go even before lockdowns became the new normal.

Meanwhile, Sydney’s stay-at-home orders will remain until 16 July as the city tops 350 cases since the first Delta variant infection was detected in early June. Health officials say they are expecting the numbers to rise so there’s nothing better to do than to chill, relax and enjoy your drinks moderately at home.

Redfern Student Accommodation Providers Seeking Building Use Change for Non-Students

To establish an alternative income stream, student accommodation providers in Redfern and other parts of Australia are temporarily seeking to change the use of their buildings into temporary hotel accommodations and rentals for non-students.

Scape Australia, the country’s largest student accommodation provider with upcoming purpose-built student accommodations (PBSA) in Redfern, and Iglu, which also runs a number of student dormitories in the borough, has sought permission from the City of Sydney to allow the changes amidst the uncertainties of the pandemic lockdowns.

Scape chief Anouk Darling said that their existing student homes are at 10 to 20 percent occupancy only whilst many of their new and completed state-of-the-art buildings have not yet opened due to the lack of international students.

Iglu’s Richard Smith said that they want temporary relief from the ongoing COVID situation and would like to turn their student buildings into accommodations for teachers and school support staff as well. The student accommodation provider has a new 18-storey building on Redfern’s Regent Street with 500 beds.

Prior to COVID-19, the purpose-built student accommodation industry has been booming with over 109,000 beds across Australia whilst 30,000 more are in development for the next few years. Scape has five new buildings around the country slated to open this year, which would lose millions in revenue if the borders remain closed.

As of January 2021, 60,394 student visa holders in NSW have not returned for in-person classes, per the figures from the Federal Department of Education, Skills and Employment However, Minister Alan Tudge said they will launch phased pilots to bring back the students in small numbers.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said that the NSW Government has given the green light for 250 international students to fly into Sydney every two weeks beginning July 2021. The students will undergo mandatory quarantine at a purpose-built student accommodation, whether they are vaccinated or unvaccinated. The proposal has been submitted to the Federal Government for their review.

The Norfolk House and Hotel to Reopen in Redfern After Renovations

The Norfolk House and Hotel is reopening in Redfern, after a series of renovations worth $2 million, which include the addition of a recording room and a beer bar.

From the minds of revolutionary hospitality and accommodations group the people_ comes the new and improved Norfolk House and Hotel, complete with its own specially-made beer bar run by local operators in the hospitality industry. Here, customers can indulge themselves and support the local scene as their venues are not run by the people_, but rather by their specialist partners.

the people_ was founded by Andrew Taylor, who also founded specialist hotel advisory and development company Cre8tive Property, and Paul Schulte, the creative director of The Keystone Group. The group aims to create suburban venues that cater to local communities by tailoring products and experiences to what appeals to them most.

In the case of the revamped Norfolk Hotel, the redesigns brought on by the people_ aims to make the hotel stay true to its roots while simultaneously adapting the venue to keep up with the times and reflect the changing character of the suburb.

The hotel also features a special recording room for podcasters, TikTokers and Youtubers, providing content creators the opportunity to record material for their channels with fast internet and audio-visual facilities for them to use.

The Norfolk House and Hotel is scheduled to reopen in early July 2021, and the hotel can be found at 305 Cleveland St, Redfern. For more information, visit their website here. Follow their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates and announcements concerning the hotel.

Redfern Student Tower in The Block Could Become First Student Quarantine Hub

A 600-bed student accommodation located in The Block in Redfern could become the first student quarantine hub in New South Wales upon the return of the international students.

Construction of the $100-million development, which will be one of three Scape student housing facilities in Sydney, is almost complete and could be ready in time for the launch of the government’s pilot program for student quarantine hubs.

Scape co-founder Craig Carracher confirmed that the student tower was re-engineered to be featured with contactless access points and a better airflow system that will limit the spread of the virus. It comes as International Education Association Australia CEO Phil Honeywood also said that similar student accommodation companies have been looking into developing and improving their facilities to comply with the policies and regulations of the NSW Health on student housing.

However, a spokesperson from the NSW Treasury said that the Scape development has only been shortlisted and a decision on the quarantine hub has yet to been made. Another student accommodation provided by Iglu, also found in Redfern, is up for consideration as well.

The spokesperson acknowledged the need to prepare quarantine-ready facilities for returning international students as they make up one of the “largest and important export sectors” of NSW, supporting local jobs and boosting the economy for over $14 billion a year.

South Australia was the first to propose a student quarantine hub and will meet with the officials of the federal government in the coming weeks to carefully carry out their plans. NSW, on the other hand, has not yet submitted any proposal to the federal government.

Meanwhile, the Scape development is not without its controversies as it will stand on an iconic site. Some Redfern locals worry about the potential impact of a quarantine facility next to the vulnerable Indigenous residents, who could be forced out of The Block due to the threats to their health and wellbeing.

Student Accommodation to Replace Petrol Station on Regent Street

Did you know that an idle site on Regent Street in Redfern, formerly a petrol station, will soon be developed into a three-tower student accommodation with 1,300 beds and shops on the ground floor?

Plans to demolish the petrol station have been approved in January 2021 (DA D/2020/1095) after developer Wee Hur bought the 1,366 square metre property (104 to 116 Regent Street) from BP Australia. The Singaporean investor has two other adjoining properties in the area: 90-102 Regent Street and 13-23 Gibbons Street.

With this third site in his portfolio, the developer is looking to build three towers of student accommodation that will seal Redfern’s reputation as the ideal student precinct. One of the towers will have its own outdoor cinema on the rooftop, as well as communal areas with BBQ facilities.

Photo Credit: City of Sydney Development Application

Per the approved development application, demolition on the site will cover the service station hardstands, canopy and equipment, as well as the removal of the signage. Excavation and remediation work are also included in the approved plans.

The total cost of this demolition is $287,824. The developer, however, will still submit a separate application for the student accommodation, projected to stand at about 18-storeys tall.

Mr Wee’s Australian investment company, Intergen Property Group, also manages two student accommodation sites at the Unilodge Park Central in Brisbane (1,578 beds) and Unilodge City Gardens in Adelaide (772 beds).

According to industry experts, student towers remain the fastest-growing investment for property developers despite the impact of COVID-19. Pre-pandemic, Australia’s third-largest industry has been education, generating about $30 billion annually.

Significant changes have been happening in Redfern following its rezoning in 2000 as a high-density suburb. Redfern will also become the site of the NSW’s first Build-to-Rent social housing project.