Towers will “block out the stars”
Casino mogul James Packer’s plan to build a $1.5 billion casino resort complex at Sydney Harbor has come up against some formidable opponents: not only rival casino operator Echo Entertainment, but the Sydney Observatory, which says the resort’s planned high-rise towers, including a 69-story casino and hotel, could literally “block out the stars” according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Echo Entertainment, owner of the Star casino, says Packer’s application to modify Barangaroo’s concept plan to include the giant tower may be illegal. But Crown Sydney CEO Rowen Craigie said Echo is an attempt by the Star casino “to try and protect their existing monopoly and delay much-needed competition into Sydney’s VIP gaming market.”
Attorneys for Echo insist the modification, “if granted, would be open to judicial review proceedings … of the Land and Environment Court’s jurisdiction.”
Adding to Packer’s headaches, Rose Hiscock?, director of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, contends that the two Lend Lease towers at Barangaroo South will limit the two nightly “guided astronomy viewings” of the Southern Cross, “the most popular object with tourists and locals.”
The buildings would reduce viewing of other stars, planets and constellations, she said. “The whole Barangaroo South precinct, but particularly these buildings will spill light to the sky, reducing the contrast between the background sky and objects viewed from Sydney Observatory, making objects more difficult to view,” she said.
She added that 12 percent to 25 percent of available viewing days will be lost to stargazers if Packer gets his way.
