NSW govt pours $35m into mega Sydney start-up hub

Sydney will soon boast a massive new start-up nerve centre after the New South Wales government pledged to pour $35 million into the project.

Known as the Sydney start-up hub, the facility will be located at 11-31 York Street opposite Wynyard Park and cover more than 17,000 square metres of floor space and 11 floors. It will house 2500 people.

The facility is the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere, and is intended to drive job creation across the state. The government first announced its plans for the facility in February.

It is inspired by similar hubs like the Cambridge Innovation Centre in Boston, which is almost two decades old, and the yet-to-be-opened Station F in Paris. 

Initial anchor tenants include fintech incubator Stone and Chalk and co-working companies Fishburners, Tank Stream Labs, and The Studio.

Organisations that are accepted into the hub will have to agree to legally binding KPIs. If organisations fail to meet the KPIs for two consecutive years, they may be asked to leave.

The NSW government believes the start-up hub will result in around 6500 jobs being created.

The hub is expected to open later this year or early 2018.

The Sydney start-up hub project joins the planned technology hub in the 10 hectare White Bay Power Station, which is being redeveloped by UrbanGrowth NSW.

White Bay Power Station was set to house the new headquarters for Google, but the tech giant pulled out as an anchor tenant for the project over concerns about a lack of public transport for the area.