Mixed-Use North Sydney Tower

Developer Legacy Property will seek to amend height and planning controls in a recently submitted development application to North Sydney council for a 10,477 square metre mixed-use tower.

Located at 253-267 Pacific Highway, the 1469 square metre site is an amalgamation of five sites Legacy started acquiring in October 2017, totalling approximately $23 million.

GALLERY  

The last site to be acquired was 265 Pacific Highway — currently occupied by the heritage-protected Cloisters Antique Dealer — in September this year and will be the only existing structure not demolished in the redevelopment.

Legacy Property chief executive officer Matthew Hyder said they had been very active in North Sydney over the last several years and the addition of the Victoria Cross Metro was a major motivator towards securing another development site in the area.

“We recognised that 253-267 Pacific Highway is underutilised and that greater density on the site makes sense as it’s less than 300 metres from the upcoming metro station,” Hyder said.

Legacy are proposing a 67-metre-tall building projected to cost around $90 million. The development will comprise of office space over four levels, 89 residential apartments with retail and other community uses.

To achieve this outcome the development would need to exceed the current height and floor space ratio controls set by council, with Legacy applying to set new site-specific controls. The developer says the site’s potential as an amalgamated landholding to deliver a high-quality mixed-use development will cater to the growing density in the area.

Strong demand for apartments from professionals working in North Sydney informed the developer’s decision to maintain a product mix of mostly one- and two-bedroom apartments. “The delivery of housing close to key infrastructure including transport, education and health care is fundamental,” Hyder said.

The site is located approximately 260m west of the new Victoria Cross Metro Station and 850m to the existing heavy rail station.

North Sydney is Australia’s ninth-largest commercial centre, consisting of 800,000 square metres of commercial floor space and generating approximately 60,400 jobs.

As an added sweetener Legacy are proposing to also deliver a set criteria of ‘public benefits’. These public benefits include affordable rental housing and the provision of both commercial and community floor space to council.

The developer is also proposing to allocate part of the site to widening Church Lane — which sits to the rear of the site — with the intention of improving safety for surrounding residents and improving traffic egress.

In more detail, the proposal allocates 233sq m of the residential yield — which equates to three one-bedroom apartments and one studio apartment — to council or an affordable housing provider. An allocation of 349sq m of the development’s commercial component will go towards affordable office space for start-up businesses.

The developer is also proposing the embellishment of approximately 200 metres of footpaths and public domain around the site’s full perimeter.

Hyder reinforced the public benefit around the provision of affordable office space which he states given the location is ideal and a point of difference.

Legacy, in conjunction with project architects GM Urban Design and Architecture, met with North Sydney Council twice leading up to the application submission.

On the second meeting in August of this year two potential schemes were presented to council, who didn’t provide a preference for either scheme.

The developer elected to go with the second option that included a lower-scaled stepped podium.

Legacy aim to commence construction in late-2020.

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