by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 6:00 PM ET, Thu February 22, 2018
A new development on the Sydney waterfront is giving the famed and iconic Sydney Opera House a run for its money.
Barangaroo, a reinvention of an abandoned site, is a dynamic 54-acre retail, cultural and financial area combined with extraordinary public spaces.
Constructed at a cost of more than $6 billion, it represents one of Sydney's largest redevelopment projects in years.
The already popular area showcases international design, leading technologies, public art and cultural programs, according to the Barangaroo website.
At its northern end, there's a 14-acre recreated Sydney Harbor headland known as the Barangaroo Reserve, a space covered by a native Australian garden that offers spectacular views, walking and cycling trails, idyllic harbor coves and more.
Barangaroo's southern end meanwhile features a cluster of more than 30 restaurants and bars that make-up a specially curated dining precinct (and a foodie's heaven).
Connecting the northern and southern portions of the development are avenues lined by modern architecture.
Cultural programming already in place includes tours and events designed to highlight the Gadigal people, who were the original owners of the Sydney city region. Additional plans call for at least nine major public art and cultural programs that are part of a $40 million program scheduled to be underway by 2020.
Large portions of the Barangaroo development remain under construction. The project won't be fully complete until about 2024, according to Bloomberg.
Rights to develop what's known as the Central Barangaroo project area, a space that's intended to be a civic and cultural hub, were just awarded in January to a successful bidder.
Over the coming years, additional public spaces, including a public pier, are to be added to Barangaroo South, Bloomberg reported.
When the massive project is finally complete in about six years, more than half of Barangaroo will be dedicated open space including extensive harbor promenades, parklands and outdoor entertainment areas.
The complex, adjacent to Sydney's central business district, will also support more than 24,000 permanent jobs and provide housing for more than 3,500 residents.
The project represents Sydney's first major landmark in nearly half a century. The last time the city undertook such a major development effort was the Opera House, constructed in 1973.
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