Lendlease Breaks Ground For A$1.2bil Sydney Office Tower
AUSTRALIA – Global property player Lendlease started construction on Monday of a 42-storey office building at the intersection of Miller and Berry streets in the heart of North Sydney, reported The Age on Monday evening (29 August, SGT).
Located on top of the upcoming Victoria Cross metro station, the A$1.2 billion office tower spearheads the revival of the North Sydney precinct, which had languished after the property and dotcom busts of the early 2000s.
Now the precinct is coming back to life with an influx of developers and major tenants. In fact, there are currently A$11 billion worth of new developments in the area that are either under construction or being planned.
Tom Mackellar, Managing Director of development at Lendlease, revealed that the Victoria Cross Tower would house as much as 7,000 workers across 624,307 sq ft of high-tech, premium office space as well as retail premises.
He verified that they are in talks with tenants for the commercial property. The office building is 25 percent owned by APPF Commercial, the flagship Australian office fund of Lendlease.
Designed by Bates Smart, the office building aims to attain a platinum WELL certification, the highest standard for eco-friendly buildings, as well as 6-star Green Star rating. The Premium Grade tower will be fully powered by renewable energy.
“The sustainability credentials of the tower will be at the next level with net-zero carbon, 100 percent powered by electricity – so no gas – and the concrete will be a mix of cement and recycled industrial waste,” said Mackellar during the ground-breaking.
He disclosed that the Victoria Cross Tower is poised to be completed in 2024, when Sydney metro City and Southwest services will commence operations. Apart from housing multipurpose community spaces, the commercial property will also offer panoramic views of Sydney harbour and the city.
Moreover, Lendlease has teamed up with Singapore’s Keppel REIT to construct a A$327.7 million office building at the intersection of Blue and William streets in North Sydney, with a focus on “wellness and tenant experience”.
