MLC Building is on the heritage list but part of it might be razed

The state heritage-listed MLC Building in North Sydney would be partly demolished to make way for a 22-storey office tower under revised plans to overhaul the languishing site, setting the stage for another battle with architects and conservationists who say such action would destroy its heritage values.

Investa Property Group also intends to tear down the Miller Street building’s signature glass curtain wall and replace it with a like-for-like facade if the plan for the $365 million revamp is approved.

The developer is considering three separate planning approvals for the site – including a proposal to partly demolish the building for a 22-storey tower.

The developer is considering repurposing the building for offices or an educational facility after a decision to reinstate the block on the state heritage list thwarted an earlier plan to knock it down.

Investa says the 1950s building is obsolete and needs extensive upgrades. But the revised proposal has alarmed The National Trust, the Australian Institute of Architects and Docomomo Australia, a national organisation promoting the conservation of modern buildings, which criticised the project as “tantamount to the construction of a new building”.

It’s the latest fight over the block, which was North Sydney’s first skyscraper and which became a lightning rod for debate about balancing progress with the preservation of Sydney’s modernist architecture.

Investa submitted a development application to North Sydney Council earlier this year, seeking permission to refurbish the building’s 14-storey Miller Street wing, while demolishing the central link and smaller Denison Street wing to replace it with a slender tower.

The application includes removing the first-floor slab of the Miller Street wing to fix flooding and building compliance problems. It would also replace the glass curtain wall with a modern facade featuring the “same visual design intent” as the original. It says the wall has reached the end of its life and isn’t watertight.

In a submission, Docomomo Australia president Rebecca Hawcroft said while the proposal was an improvement on earlier plans to bulldoze the block, the extensive demolitions and removal of the original materials could not be considered as conservation of a state heritage-listed building.

“The current scheme does not retain any significant part of the building and is tantamount to the construction of a new building, with part of the new building being a partial replica of the original,” she said.

“The wholesale removal of most of the building’s original fabric is considered to be excessive and will lessen, if not entirely remove, the building’s significance.”

The building’s Denison Street wing (on left) would be razed while the Miller Street wing (right) would be retained.Credit: Dylan Coker

The National Trust of Australia NSW branch said demolition of the building’s core and the Denison Street wing was largely justified. But it said the entire building was heritage-listed and the three separate sections could not be “severed” without compromising the integrity of the overall design.

“We believe that there is a danger of too much original material and detail being lost in this proposal for reconstruction, not adaptive reuse,” it said.

Sydney architect and conservationist Louise Cox said the developer was looking for “excuses for not saving anything”.

“Everyone should be looking at the benefits available and stop putting ridiculous arguments together to demolish the building. [It] must not be demolished,” Cox said.

The National Institute of Architects NSW branch executive director, Lisa King, acknowledged the need for significant upgrades, but she said the block “offers sound functionality in today’s context”.

Investa is also considering lodging a state-significant development application to use the upgraded complex for an “educational establishment” featuring “best-in-class” education facilities.

It follows a 2023 proposal to turn the office block into 340 build-to-rent apartments, which prompted North Sydney’s mayor to say such a conversion to residential units would kill the CBD.

Investa said it was exploring various options to “unlock 105 Miller Street’s tremendous potential, to the economic and social benefit of the North Sydney community and Investa’s fiduciaries”.

The 14-storey building was North Sydney’s first skyscraper when it was built in 1957.

A spokeswoman said those options included the revised office scheme, as well as seeking state government approval for an educational establishment. However, no decisions had been made.

“Investa remains committed to unlocking a solution for the asset that best balances community, commercial and heritage considerations,” the spokeswoman said.

The Heritage Council of NSW in April passed a resolution noting members’ support for the adaptive reuse of the MLC Building and gave their in-principle backing to Investa’s development application.

But it said any changes to the Miller Street wing should minimise the demolition or replacement of significant heritage features and prioritise the conservation and retention of the curtain wall materials.

The council said an educational facility “would allow for greater retention of the remaining fabric that represents aspirations of the original modernist design”.

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