Mirvac’s ‘seductive’ tower on Sydney’s Pitt St grows

As many companies consider shedding their CBD offices, Mirvac is extending its reign, adding 10,000sq m to its ambitious $600m Sydney tower development.

An artist’s impression of Mirvac’s tower at 55 Pitt St in Sydney.

As many companies consider shedding their CBD offices, Mirvac is extending its reign, adding 10,000sq m to its ambitious $600m Sydney tower development.

The company has lodged a second development application for 55 Pitt St, proposing a mixed-zone development of a 56-storey podium and tower that could soar up to 240.8m.

They also called for upgraded works with adjacent buildings and a through-site link between Dalley St and Underwood St.

Despite the tough city leasing market, developers have been proposing new towers.

Rival property group Stockland is proposing one of Sydney’s largest commercial developments with an overhaul of the Piccadilly Centre that will make it into one of the city’s top office and retail com­plexes, with a $1.5bn ­development spend. The design of the Mirvac project has been turning heads for several months, earlier this year winning an international competition, with the developer citing the “distinctive soaring yet seductive” tower shape.

In a sign of the developer’s confidence, the final product, which will be about 70,000sq m in full, has grown from the 45,000sq m announced in mid-2018 and the 60,000sq m detailed in May this year.

It will consist of 45 storeys of office space, retail floorspace across an eight-storey podium and several features that pay respect to “Indigenous narratives”, Mirvac chief investment officer Brett Draffen said earlier this year.

“Prior to the time of early ­European settlement, the site formed part of the harbour shoreline. SHoP Architects and Woods Bagot wove this fascinating history into their design for the lobby and entry hall, using cascading water features, lush landscaping and Indigenous narratives,” he said.

Mirvac’s $600m CBD tower. Picture: Supplied

Mr Draffen said the tower would “redefine the Sydney skyline” while prioritising its visitors and occupants who would enjoy the luxury of “iconic views of Sydney Harbour”.

The architects behind the design describe it as “a performative, expressive and breathable tower”.

“Our proposal brings to the forefront a next-generation building centred around a sense of belonging and place dictated by guiding principles of Country, an activated sense of community connections, a workplace environment focusing on new return to work principles,” wrote Woods Bagot chief executive Nik Karalis and SHoP NYC Partner William Sharples in an earlier statement.

Mirvac is no stranger to the area, already developing and part-owning the 200 George St tower occupied by Ernst & Young on the same block. Other major developments on the block are owned by Lendlease, Poly Australia and Chinese entity AWH Investment Group.

The Australian previously reported the group had long planned a tower after striking deals with neighbouring landowners.

This boosted the size of its project at 55 Pitt St and it will compete for tenants in future against Dexus, which is planning a super-tall skyscraper at the nearby proposed Pitt and Bridge precinct.

The move comes after Mirvac lodged plans for another major tower in Melbourne’s central business district last year and indicates it is looking past the pandemic and hopeful that it will kick off new projects once the economy recovers.

In Melbourne, Mirvac put it an application for its site at 383 La Trobe St, where it is planning to create a commercial precinct with 44,000sq m of A-Grade office space over 31 levels.