Big names vie for Sydney station development contracts
The contest to develop new skyscrapers above railway stations for Sydney’s planned metro network has drawn some the biggest names in local and international property, with local giant Lendlease going up against Canada’s Brookfield, a bid by Spanish-backed giant CIMIC and Grocon and another from Malaysia’s UEM Sunrise.
The heavyweight developers want a slice of the multi-billion-dollar contracts on offer from building mega-towers in the heart of the central business district and are forming consortiums to handle the huge jobs.
Building new offices, apartments and hotels is critical to the Berejiklian government’s plans to fund about 30 new stations and spark economic activity near major infrastructure hubs.
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In the latest play, four consortiums are vying for the opportunity to develop two huge towers above the proposed station for the Pitt Street Metro.
The NSW government unveiled plans to sell rights to develop multi-billion-dollar towers above new metro stations in the CBD and North Sydney last year and work is already in progress on new buildings above Wynyard and Martin Place stations.
NSW Transport and Infrastructure Minister Andrew Constance said last year the aim was to replicate top offshore mass transit-oriented developments like the Hudson Yards in New York and Paddington Station on London’s Crossrail.
An artist’s impression of Brookfield’s plan to transform the Wynyard Station entrance in Sydney.
The new Pitt Street Station will be near Chinatown, Town Hall and the Queen Victoria Building, and two development sites — Pitt Street North on Park Street and Pitt Street South on Bathurst Street — are up for grabs.
The north site is to house a 47-storey mixed-use tower, which could include offices, a hotel and apartments. The south is for a 65-storey unit tower with about 300 luxury apartments, as well as amenities for residents.
The project, to be completed around 2024, when the metro is slated to start running, has drawn a who’s who of development, many of which are already deeply involved in the revamp of Sydney.
Lendlease, which last month stated its interest in the station jobs, is understood to be in the running.
The group, which is also undertaking whole precincts in London, is believed to have drafted in Investa Property Group as a potential partner on the office component.
The pair are close and Lendlease is building the new 60 Martin Place tower for Investa and Gwynvill Group.
An artist’s impression of the new Martin Place station.
Canadian group Brookfield is another contender and, if successful, alongside its building arm Multiplex, it would have a huge presence in Sydney’s buildings.
Brookfield is already developing the $1.8 billion Wynyard Place Sydney project above that gateway station that will be anchored by the National Australia Bank.
Brookfield last year sold almost half its stake in the Wynyard project to AMP Capital and superannuation fund UniSuper and may adopt a similar model at Pitt Street.
Another strong contender is CIMIC, whose CPB Contractors business is believed to have teamed with Grocon. Both companies are riding the boom in new rail lines and above-station developments.
CPB Contractors, with its joint venture partners, last year won the $2.81bn contract to deliver twin 15.5km tunnels, crossing deep under Sydney Harbour, for the Sydney Metro.
Meanwhile, Grocon last month chose Canadian giant Oxford Properties as the investment partner on the $1.4 billion office component of the Central Barangaroo precinct in Sydney.
The Daniel Grollo-owned group is head contractor on the overall precinct that it is doing with Scentre Group and Aqualand and is putting in place new finance to replace a debt facility with MaxCap.
The apartment project has also drawn one of Malaysia’s largest apartment players, UEM Sunrise, which is thought to have tapped builder Probuild for a bid.
UEM Sunrise has made its mark with six luxury apartment and hotel projects across Melbourne. It is already working with Probuild, which is working on Melbourne CBD’s tallest residential tower, UEM Sunrise’s Aurora Melbourne Central.
The 92-level luxury residential development is in keeping with the planned Pitt Street apartment tower and a move into Sydney would boost UEM Sunrise’s profile in Australia.
Other big players are developing above new stations.
Macquarie Group in March won NSW planning approval for two new office towers in Sydney’s Martin Place but is yet to lock down agreement with a developer for the proposal, submitted via the controversial unsolicited projects process.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
