Mirvac proposes 155m skyscraper for Circular Quay
The Mirvac Group has entered the race to build a $1 billion-plus office tower on the best block at Sydney’s Circular Quay, with the move pitting it against rival Lendlease that is planning a $1.5 billion skyscraper on the block.
Mirvac has lodged a planning proposal for a premium tower at 55 Pitt St that was to be considered on Monday night by a City of Sydney Council committee, with the project adding to the roster of high-profile buildings on the harbourside block bound by Alfred, Pitt, Dalley and George streets.
Mirvac, which successfully developed the 200 George St tower on the block, is hoping to win a major precommitment from a tenant that could anchor the building, which offers a more boutique scale than some competing projects.
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Mirvac’s long-awaited plans will bring some stability to the development of the key Sydney block and also add to the company’s office workbook that includes a potential scheme for technology giant Google in the inner Sydney suburb of Redfern.
The spectre of long delays on the luxury apartment and hotel towers planned by Chinese group Wanda on the Circular Quay block had loomed last year as it dumped its offshore holdings.
Controversial Chinese-Australian property developer Yuhu Group bought Wanda’s Sydney Harbour and Gold Coast developments in January and last month claimed it would outlay $3 billion on the projects.
Mirvac has yet to comment on its plans, but documents show it is seeking to develop properties at 37-57 Pitt Street, 6-8 Underwood St and 8-14 Dalley St, together known as 55 Pitt Street.
The plans would enable a significant renewal and would comprise a 45,000sqm office tower up to 155.5m high, council documents show.
It will also create new links between streets, ties with the city’s revitalised public transport, public art works and, potentially, space for technology groups.
The Mirvac site last year began to emerge as a contender for major tenant precommitments including the Commonwealth Bank, Deloitte and, more recently, technology companies like Amazon.
The company also has a deep roster of existing tenants from which it could draw a precommitment that would allow it to start the building.
The group’s 37-storey tower at 200 George St also set new benchmarks for sustainability, which could draw international tenants. In keeping with its business model the company is also likely to seek a capital partner once it had locked in a tenant.
Mirvac owns the Underwood and Pitt St site and is striking a deal with NSW Treasury, owner of the Ausgrid substation site at 8-14 Dalley St, as part of its plans.
A council committee will tonight consider the Mirvac proposal.
The main rival on the block is Lendlease’s $1.5 billion Circular Quay Tower, which at 55 storeys is pitched as Sydney’s tallest office building and would soar up to 263m.
The company in 2016 won the backing of China’s Ping An Real Estate and Japan’s Mitsubishi Estate Asia for the project but is yet to lock down a tenant.
Meanwhile, construction on the tourist element of the Yuhu development has started. The group is planning a 15-storey hotel and a separate 57-storey residential building that will house some of the city’s most expensive apartments. Elsewhere on the block, Chinese group Poly is seeking tenants for its site at 220 George St where it planning a 25-storey office complex rising to 110m.
The Australian can reveal that at the remaining property in Dalley St, the Telstra site will also be redeveloped. The telecommunications company has held “preliminary discussions” about a project that would round out the area’s overhaul.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
