Atlassian to headline multi-billion-dollar Sydney tech precinct
Homegrown software giant Atlassian is poised to shift its headquarters to a site next to Sydney’s Central Station, with the company co-founded by Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar anchoring a multi-billion-dollar technology district.
Farquhar told The Australian the precinct would be a home to future generations of Australians who might otherwise take their great ideas overseas.
“We want to help create the jobs of the future and to contribute to the 25,000-plus additional innovation jobs that the precinct is expected to deliver,” he says.
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“That’s what the tech precinct is all about. It will breathe new life into the Central Station area, while also preserving its history and heritage,” he adds.
With adviser Avenor, the company will develop and then occupy a premium 35-storey building. The complex will include a mixed-use hotel and innovation space in a tower on the site of Railway Square YHA backpackers, with the aim of realising the pair’s dreams of transforming the area into a technology hub.
Early plans show a broader development is being planned for Central Station, with the move to bring to life the southern end of Sydney’s central business district after near-complete overhauls of Circular Quay and Barangaroo.
The move aims to create thousands of jobs in growth industries that the government hopes will flock to the area. Nearby universities and institutes have also committed to the technology park.
The NSW government has released a draft vision for the 24ha Central Precinct and rezoning plans for the Western Gateway anchored by Atlassian, with another two buildings by developers Dexus and Frasers.
NSW Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes says the area will be a vibrant new hub in the CBD.
“We’re at the beginning of the planning process and I encourage the community to play a role as we start to bring to life this exciting new precinct,” he said.
The precinct, set to be delivered for the NSW Government by Transport for NSW, will be the state’s largest government-led urban renewal, surpassing even Barangaroo. The government-owned land runs from Central Station above the rail line to Redfern, from Goulburn St car park and on land along Lee St.
Atlassian has kickstarted the area by committing to shift its global headquarters to the Sydney Innovation and Technology Precinct. Its tower will support about 4000 jobs, encompassing the software company, spaces for local and emerging tech start-ups, and YHA accommodation.
The tower will have 49,300sqm of office space, with 28,300sqm to be occupied by Atlassian in 2024. The remaining 21,000sqm of office space will be used as an incubator for technology and innovation, sublet to start-ups and small businesses.
The Atlassian co-founders have long argued that Sydney needs a centralised technology district and were against a shift to the former White Bay Power station or suburban areas, as they want to create networks between advanced companies.
Next door, Dexus and Frasers will undertake a mixed-use development comprising two tech-focused towers, which will span 50,000sqm and 40,000sqm.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
