A new square opposite Sydney Town Hall

Planned

Early 2026 to mid-2026: concept design development
Late 2026: development application lodged
2028: demolition and construction begins
2031: all works completed

Aerial view of a city centre with tall buildings, a clock tower, a tree-lined plaza, and busy streets filled with people and vehicles under clear blue skies. — Artist impression of the new square at Town Hall showing an aerial view.

Design of the square

The concept design for a new square has been developed by lead design consultant and architect JPW, partnering with landscape architects ASPECT Studios, responding to our project scope.

In the design, a generous open plaza is anchored by a circular water element and paving pattern, framed by a curved grove of more than 30 distinctly Australian trees. Shaded seating beneath the trees, along with fixed and movable chairs and tables, provides room for people to sit, connect and enjoy the space.

The square is designed to easily transform from an everyday meeting place into a lively outdoor events space.

More than 4,500 square metres of accessible open space seamlessly connect with the precinct's historic buildings, transport hubs, George Street and Sydney Square. The design opens up clear views to Sydney Town Hall, the Queen Victoria Building and St Andrew's Cathedral.

Opportunities for public art, and responding to Country, are being further developed.

The public will have the opportunity to view and comment on the design in late 2026.

People sit at tables and walk in a busy urban square surrounded by tall buildings and trees on a sunny day.

Large crowd gathers in a city square at sunset, surrounded by modern skyscrapers and a historic building, with trees and benches visible in the foreground.

Why we’re doing this

Like other great global cities, Sydney needs well-designed public spaces where people can come together, spend time and connect. A civic heart belongs to everyone — a welcoming place where everyday moments and civic life sit side by side.

The new square is the next step in making Central Sydney a city designed for people. It will be a flexible shared place where people can sit, relax, meet friends, celebrate and take part in community events and major gatherings.

More people are living, working and spending time in Sydney’s city centre than ever before.

The Town Hall precinct has changed significantly in recent years, with nearby light rail and metro connections bringing more people to the area. Around 190,000 people move on and off public transport in the precinct every day, making it one of Sydney’s busiest transport hubs. The square will provide a welcoming arrival point to the city.

Our city centre attracts large numbers of people but there are limited open spaces able to accommodate bigger crowds or outdoor events.

With as many as 2 million people expected in the city each day by 2050, nearly double current numbers, the square will help meet the demand for high-quality public space and support continued growth.
The project has been more than 40 years in the making, with planning for a square on the site beginning in the 1980s when the City of Sydney started buying properties. After decades of planning and property acquisition, we can now make this long-envisioned civic space a reality.

It’s part of a 3-square vision along the George Street spine, a key element of our long-term strategic plan Sustainable Sydney 2030–2050 Continuing the Vision.

The plan was shaped by extensive conversations with our communities over many years and the square responds directly to the aspirations we heard. It’s one of the transformative project ideas in the plan that demonstrated how public space and infrastructure projects could achieve our vision for a green, global and connected Sydney by 2050.

Buildings on the site are now more than 50 years old. The rising cost of maintaining or upgrading them to comply with current standards has become increasingly prohibitive. With high vacancy rates in older office and retail buildings, retaining and upgrading these buildings is no longer financially sustainable. Creating this generous public space is a great long-term investment for the community.

The construction of the square is budgeted at $150 million and funded in our long-term plans. It’s one of the many capital works projects designed to support a growing, lively, accessible and sustainable city.
Revitalising George Street into a pedestrian boulevard has already attracted more than $8 billion in private development. With 30,000 square metres of public space, it’s now a destination in its own right: home to some of the world’s most well-known retail brands, hospitality venues with outdoor dining and sought-after commercial addresses.

Building on this success, the new square continues our work to create spaces that draw more people to visit, stay longer and support local businesses.

By creating a new gathering place at the heart of the city, the project will help ensure central Sydney remains an attractive place to live, work, visit and invest for decades to come.

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What we’re doing

We’re creating a new public square in Central Sydney, opposite Sydney Town Hall bounded by George, Pitt and Park streets.

The square will be designed for everyday use as well as for civic events and community gatherings. The project includes a generous public open space with:

more than 30 new native trees that will provide 50% canopy cover
an interactive water element
integrated seating and movable chairs and tables
new creative lighting
infrastructure to support events and public activities
improved walking connections to transport hubs.

The project involves removing the 7 buildings on the site. The buildings aren’t heritage listed.

Most business tenancies in these buildings are expected to, or are currently in the process of, relocating to alternative premises. We're working directly with tenants on this transition.

We’re exploring a name for the square using a Sydney Aboriginal word, following the principles in our naming policy.

Alongside the new square opposite Town Hall, we're also renewing Sydney Square, the open public space between Sydney Town Hall and St Andrew's Cathedral. This work is a key part of the Town Hall precinct public domain plan and will complement the surrounding heritage buildings. It will also help connect the 2 squares and George Street pedestrian areas into one precinct.

Anna Field

Development Manager

: 02 9265 9333
: [email protected]

Map showing the area around Sydney Town Hall, Sydney Square, and Town Hall Square, with nearby streets and railway stations labelled.

Aerial view of Town Hall Square in Sydney, showing nearby streets, railway stations, and landmarks labelled for reference.

Project and site history

The new public square is located on Gadigal Country, near the catchment of the Tank Stream. For thousands of years, Gadigal people used walking tracks in this area to move between important places such as the freshwater stream, Warrane/Sydney Cove, campsites and ceremonial places. George Street is believed to follow one of these original tracks, with another crossing nearby along what are now Druitt and Park streets.

Sydney Town Hall was built between 1869 and 1889 on the site of the old Sydney Burial Ground. As the city grew, the town hall became an important civic meeting place for public meetings, celebrations, protests and cultural expression, often extending onto the street. The original covered area for horse carriages was replaced with the front steps in 1934, which have remained a popular meeting place ever since.

Ideas for a civic square near Sydney Town Hall go back to the 19th century, with several possible locations considered over time. In 1982, Council supported a proposal to buy properties to extend Sydney Square and create a new square opposite Sydney Town Hall. The first property on the site was purchased in 1985.

The block where the site sits has changed significantly over the past 100 years. This includes demolishing buildings to widen Park Street in the 1920s and building Town Hall railway station in the 1930s.

After extensive community consultation in 2007 as part of our long term strategic plan, 3 public squares linked by a pedestrian-friendly George Street was one of the project ideas with strong community support that we adopted. The new public square is also a key part of the Town Hall precinct public domain plan. The City of Sydney resolved to move ahead with the design and construction of the new square in February 2026.