RBA Files First DA to Fix $1bn Sydney Asbestos Money Pit

The first development application for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Reserve Bank’s Martin Place headquarters has been filed after the true extent of its asbestos issue—and the $1 billion cost to fix it—was uncovered last year.

After designing plans to rework the 60-year-old building in 2021, scoping works in 2022 and 2023 found “significant” quantities of bonded and friable asbestos embedded in the fabric and structure of the building at 65 Martin Place. 

The Reserve Bank this year met City of Sydney planning officers and agreed on a two-step approach to remediation. 

The RBA has now filed its first development application with the city to undertake initial remediation works. 

A second DA will be submitted to address “the more substantive facade and structural remediation works” required to make it fit for occupation. 

The site of the 22-storey building was bought in 1958 and the Reserve Bank moved into the tower in 1965. 

Additions were made between 1975 and 1980. When new cladding was added to an aluminium frame to replace its deteriorating Wombeyan marble facade early in the 1990s the asbestos issue was uncovered. 

Remediation works were undertaken, but in 2022 the real extent of the problem became clear, and the RBA vacated the building. 

The building is a heritage item that has “historic and aesthetic significance” exemplifying a “post-war shift away from the use of heavy architectural elements to project strength and stability toward a more transparent, lightweight architecture, using predominantly Australian materials”, according to the DA.

▲ The Reserve Bank of Australia Head Office from the Phillip Street corner in an image from 1964. Source National Archives of Australia

The DA now before the city encompasses the removal of external facade elements, internal floor slabs and structure, and all internal non-significant heritage fabrics.

Some changes, such as the removal of the original facade and garden elements along Macquarie Street, would have “adverse heritage impact”, it acknowledged but considered it acceptable to provide construction access to the site.

The estimated development cost of the first stage of the overall remediation project is $76.5 million. That is a drop in the bucket compared to the estimated $1 billion revealed last year as the total cost of the project.

The work was initially expected to cost $260 million but that figure rose as the extent of the asbestos issue was revealed. 

The problem is reportedly four to five times worse than typical for a building of its vintage, according to an RBA report delivered last year.

The RBA had considered selling the building but determined it would be most cost-effective over a 30-year, whole-of-life period to undertake remediation works, Completion is projected for 2029.

Staff have relocated to temporary premises, which is costing $100 million in rent annually. 

The building was designed in the late 20th century “international style” and marked a departure from other bank buildings in the area, which were traditionally built with load-bearing masonry.

Asbestos has been banned in Australia since 2003.

The RBA project is one of many undergoing renovation projects under way in Australian capitals, including Quintessential’s 1 Margaret Street as well as Mitsubishi and AsheMorgan’s 60 Margaret Street podium revamp.