North Sydney the ‘next big thing’ in offices
North Sydney is being pitched as the city’s next prime location for office tenants as the area gears up for a wave of new development, with the listed Lendlease looking to set fresh benchmarks with a planned $1 billion tower.
The developer is looking to snare an anchor tenant for its Victoria Cross buildings, following in the wake of rivals Dexus and Winten, which won NBN Co and Nine Entertainment respectively.
Winten is also thought to have snared Sony out of another North Sydney office block and more companies are either moving into the area or recommitting.
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Notably, MLC could stay in its long-time North Sydney home rather than shift to Parramatta, as had initially been expected when parent company NAB committed to Lang Walker’s precinct in Sydney’s western suburbs.
The price of mid-size B-grade North Sydney blocks is also rising after a series of purchases struck at premium prices, indicating demand for space is surging.
Lendlease’s head of integrated transport development, Jeheon Son, told the Urban Taskforce conference last Friday that the integrated station development at Victoria Cross was one of the company’s 21 major urbanisation projects globally.
The development will soar 42 storeys and the commercial space has been bumped up to a gross 61,500sq m. The tower aims to capitalise on the rise of North Sydney as both a work and lifestyle destination, aided by the new metro station opening in 2024.
“What Lendlease is recognising is cities that are investing in significant public transport infrastructure have a higher degree of economic growth,” Son said.
He said gateway cities were shifting away from cars and being reshaped by automated mass transport systems.
He argued North Sydney was being reassessed as an office centre: “Once Sydney Metro is delivered there will be an ability to travel from North Sydney to Barangaroo in three minutes and from North Sydney to Martin Place in five minutes. We think that will fundamentally change the relationship between North Sydney and the Sydney CBD.”
The area could also tap into the city’s North West corridor, which is expected to grow about 35% cent in the next decade.
“North Sydney has always had that connection with the executive belt, but with the metro large organisations have access to a catchment that is young, highly educated and mobile,” Son said.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
