Bondi Pavilion Upgrade Gathers Momentum

By Marcus Braid on May 6, 2015 in News

Waverley Mayor Sally Betts has welcomed the impending upgrade of Bondi Pavilion as an opportunity to improve local hospitality for visitors.

Council is inviting expressions of interests from all over the world to lead the design for the conservation and upgrade of one of Sydney’s most iconic but rapidly decaying buildings.

Council has allocated $10 million to restore the Pavilion over the next ten years as part of the Bondi Park, Beach and Pavilion Plan of Management, which was finalised in 2014.

“It will make it so much nicer,” Cr Betts said. “We already know Bondi Beach is the second most visited place in Australia. That’s all visitors.

“I think to a certain extent we let our visitors down. We can give them better amenities. Obviously it will cost a lot of money and we’ll do it in a staged approach, but once we get the design we’ll be in a better position to talk to the state and federal governments to see if they can help us.”

Retaining the heritage of the Pavilion is an essential part of upgrading the 87-year-old building.

“That’s critical,” Cr Betts said. “We do have a conservation management plan and that makes sure that the heritage part of the building is maintained.

“We want to keep it as a cultural centre to a certain extent. We have an art gallery there, but we do understand that it is a bathers’ pavilion, so we do have the facilities for the people going to the beach, like change rooms and toilets.

“We think there’s potential for some more restaurants and things like that. One of the other things we have suggested is that we may like to open up the back, which looks out to Campbell Parade, and restore that grand entrance that we used to have. It used to be like that, so it’s a restoration.”

Council expects to consult with the community on a proposed design in about a year, with construction work to start in 2017.