Catholic Archdiocese Plan 70-Storey Sydney Skyscraper

The Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney has submitted plans for a 70-storey, 234 metre residential skyscraper on Liverpool Street with an estimated $162 million construction cost.

The archdiocese told The Urban Developer that it does not “have any confirmed intentions” for the site beyond seeking the requisite preliminary approvals.

An unlikely developer, it is expected the church will move to sell the Liverpool Street site, permit-approved, once a competitive design process has commenced.

The site, currently occupied by the brutalist-era Polding Centre, covers nearly 1,600sq m at the southern end of the CBD.

The application, designed by local firm Candalepas Architects, proposes the demolition of the Polding Centre and the construction of a 61-storey tower atop an 8-storey podium.

The proposal comprises six basement levels, commercial and retail for levels one to seven, with apartments taking up the remaining 59-storeys.

Related: Mirvac, Coombes Announce Winning Architect for $1bn George Street Skyscraper

The proposed residential component of the tower will deliver 19,379sq m, or 80 per cent, of the total gross floor area, while commercial and retail will take up 4,663 square metres.

Completed in 1977, the Polding Centre was built to accommodate the Commonwealth Bank electronic data centre and designed by Smith Jesse Payne & Hunt in the brutalist style. The building is not heritage listed.

The Polding Centre tower at 133-141 Liverpool Street is home to the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney offices.

“The current tower includes its own offices so any sale or development of the site in the future would require a more strategic review of its office location,” a spokesperson for the Catholic Archdiocese said.

If approved, the tower will rank among the top ten tallest residential buildings in the country.

The application is removed from public exhibition on 1 November.

Main image: The soon-to-be-demolished Polding Centre.