Delays to the fit out of Pier 2/3 at Walsh Bay mean the Australian Chamber Orchestra will be forced to find a temporary home in 2020, The Australian’s Matthew Westwood has reported. The orchestra was to have moved into new studios, part of the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct rejuvenation by the NSW Government, next year. While the Pier 2/3 fit out was to begin this year with construction completed in 2020, a delay due to cost pressures (requiring further design work and consultation) will mean the ACO is forced to find temporary headquarters in the interim.

Australian Chamber Orchestra, Walsh BayArtist impression of the Australian Chamber Orchestra auditorium. Photo © Infrastructure NSW

“The ACO’s lease at their current Circular Quay premises expires at the end of 2019 and cannot be renewed,” a spokesperson for the ACO told Limelight. “The ACO is working with the NSW Government to identify a temporary office and rehearsal space in the interim period before the organisation moves into the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct.”

The Walsh Bay Arts Precinct project, which Infrastructure NSW is overseeing delivery of on behalf of Create NSW – and which also includes the refurbishment of Pier 4/5,...