Cronulla NRL Stadium Reborn as $2.5bn Waterfront Precinct

The Sutherland Shire, about 30km south of the Sydney CBD, is known for its beaches, suburban sprawl and fierce rugby league loyalty. So in 2012, when plans for Woolooware Bay Town Centre—a now completed $2.5-billion transformation of the land surrounding the shire’s beloved Cronulla Sharks stadium—were first unveiled, locals were more than a little sceptical. They had their stadium, expansive dirt and asphalt carparks, and a few tired playing fields, ideal for game days but hardly a setting for apartment living. When Sydney architecture practice Turner was tasked with designing a large-scale, mixed-use masterplan for the 120,000sq m site, the scale and density proposed felt completely out of place. “At the time, there was no medium or high-density development in the area,” Turner director James McCarthy told The Urban Developer . “The community just wasn’t used to it.” But scepticism gave way to curiosity, then acceptance and, eventually, buy-in. “It’s mostly Shire residents who live there now,” McCarthy said. “Many bought into multiple stages, some moved their kids in. It became a community built from the community.” Over four stages and 13 years, the development evolved alongside the suburb—shaped by market cycles, changing community sentiment and a delivery model that prioritised amenity and long-term liveability. ▲ Bay Central marks the final stage of the Woolooware Bay Town Centre development. What began as fragmented carparks and disconnected land is now a functioning precinct with 898 homes across 13 buildings, an 18,000sq m retail centre anchored by Woolworths, ALDI and Dan Murphy’s, a 71-room Quest hotel, and a network of public parks and walkable foreshore paths. Staged delivery key The precinct was delivered in four phases, each one refining the previous. Capital Bluestone, a privately held Sydney developer with deep roots in the Sutherland Shire, delivered the first three stages. Based in the Shire, many on the team were Sharks supporters with long-standing ties to the club and the community. The club wasn’t just consulted, it was the reason the project began at all. Facing financial pressure, the Cronulla-Sutherland Leagues Club needed a long-term solution to unlock value from its land while keeping the stadium and club intact. Capital Bluestone stepped in with a plan to deliver housing, retail and public space—and to rebuild the clubhouse onsite. ▲ The precinct wraps around the Sharks’ stadium. The new clubhouse is under construction. “The Sharks are almost like a religion in the Shire,” McCarthy said. “It was important the new precinct didn’t lose that.” In 2019, the club sold its remaining land interest to Capital Bluestone for a reported $40 million, retaining long-term rights to operate the new clubhouse, which remains under construction in 2025. “They were all locals, all Sharks supporters,” McCarthy said. “There was a real desire by them to do the right thing by the community.” The Sharks weren’t just a namesake, they were stakeholders and cultural anchors. “We presented to the Sharks Club many times on behalf of the client,” McCarthy said. “They wanted to make sure they had a strong identity within the precinct.” ▲ Midrise apartments were delivered across the precinct ’ s early stages, each with ground-floor retail and resident amenities. Entry design, carparking and clubhouse access were all shaped in close consultation with the club. Each of the early stages delivered midrise residential buildings with ground-floor retail and a suite of resident amenities rarely seen in the Shire at the time—gyms, a steam room, rooftop cinema, lap pools and a family-friendly lagoon-style deck. Stage 3 added a rooftop pool and function space on Level 15, designed as a quieter, adult-oriented area with views across the bay and into the stadium itself. “You can actually see the Sharks playing from the pool,” McCarthy said. “Capital Bluestone looked at a really high amenity offering in those three stages that was far beyond anything else in Sutherland.” The staged delivery also allowed the design team to listen and adapt. “We got to go back at the end of each stage and meet the residents and actually talk to them,” McCarthy said. “They were really forthcoming with their views—good, bad, all sorts of views—but it helped to inform us.” ▲ Taller buildings and shared podium spaces were added in later stages, connecting residents across the site. In 2019, Capital Bluestone was acquired by Chinese developer Aoyuan International, which later rebranded as Novm. By then, the first three stages had been delivered and a strong resident community was already in place. Novm took over responsibility for the final phase—Bay Central—and brought it to completion in early 2025. Anchored by Woolworths, ALDI and Dan Murphy’s, the final stage also introduced a gym, cafes, north-facing waterfront dining and the 71-room Quest hotel. By the time it opened, more than 900 apartments had already been sold and occupied, meaning Bay Central arrived with a built-in community on its doorstep. Its design prioritised natural light, outlook and connection to place. “We tried to make sure that no matter where you are in the retail centre, you have a direct sightline back to the sky or to some parklands [so you] feel very much of the place as you shop there,” McCarthy said. “We wanted people to feel where they were. You’re not in a mall, you’re on the bay.” Parts of the precinct are still settling in and the clubhouse is yet to open. But what started as surface carparks and leftover land now has streets, homes and a waterfront—and a suburb that didn’t quite exist before. “It was a brownfield site and it needed from the very beginning to have a really strong sense of place connected back to the water,” McCarthy said. Over time, the area around it has shifted too. “The Shire is a different place now than it was back in 2010 or 2012,” he said. “Cronulla in particular has become a more sophisticated location, there’s a real desire to live here as a lifestyle choice.”

Residential
Vanessa Croll
Wed 23 Apr 25

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