Chinese developer to build Circular Quay office tower
Chinese-owned developer Poly Australia, the local arm of Chinese developer Poly Real Estate, is set to put its stamp on a key block near Circular Quay in the Sydney CBD, with architecture firm Grimshaw winning a design competition for a major office tower.
Poly won approval to develop the A-grade office tower in May and is moving quickly to get the new building under way after it last year snapped up the site in George Street from Anton Capital for about $160 million.
Grimshaw has just been unveiled as the winner of the design excellence competition for the redevelopment of 210-220 George St, which will be Poly’s first commercial development in Australia.
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The tower will be a key part of the emerging Alfred, Pitt, Daley and George streets precinct, next to Circular Quay, where Lendlease has proposed a $1.5 billion office tower.
But China’s Dalian Wanda, which is also active on the block, is shuffling the ownership of its proposed $1 billion apartment and hotel towers as it deals with a Chinese government edict to cut debt.
Poly, by contrast, has been spending freely and the latest tower is set to become part of an ensemble of buildings designed by international architecture practices, including Foster + Partners, Kengo Kuma and Kerry Hill.
Grimshaw offered a unique approach to the design of a commercial building and we hope to see this concept set a benchmark for Sydney
The Chinese company already has residential towers under way across Sydney and it issued a design brief for the office tower at the end of May.
London-founded firm Grimshaw was awarded the job by a panel of six jurors, nominated by Poly and the City of Sydney.
“Having designed buildings in the world’s leading cities including New York, Dubai, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London, Grimshaw has an impressive track record of delivering world-class design to bustling CBDs,” Poly Australia sales and marketing director Jay Carter says.
The $90 million development will feature about 16,000sqm of office space and 1000sqm of George St-facing retail, with 10 podium floors and 15 tower floors. “Grimshaw offered a unique approach to the design of a commercial building and we hope to see this concept set a benchmark for Sydney,” Carter says.
The podium level is connected to George St through external terraces, integrating the workplace to the streetscape.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
