Six Storey Add-On to Heritage Murrays’ Building Planned

A six-storey commercial addition to a Parramatta heritage site has been proposed “to facilitate an economically sustainable future for the building”.

The addition has been proposed for Murrays’ Building which has a nearly 100-year history in Parramatta and is listed as having heritage significance by Parramatta LEP.

The site, at 186-188 Church Street, has been owned by G&J Drivas and Telado since 1987 and was previously home to the businesses of the Murray family, who have owned general and hardware stores on the street since 1876.

TKD Architects said the six-storey cantilevered commercial addition would “present as a clearly new and contemporary element, but complementary to the existing building”.

The plan will maintain the existing use and heritage significance of the existing building while “sympathetically upgrading” the site, they said.

TKD cited other adaptive reuse developments and extensions currently under way, such as 271 Spring Street in Victoria, and the Irving St Brewery development by Tzannes in Sydney as examples of successfully integrated new builds at heritage sites.

The extension will sit above the existing facade and building, they said, currently home to retail and commercial offices, to allow it to “retain primacy”.

The architects insisted that the existing access to natural light and ventilation would be retained “and enhanced” to reduce energy use and reliance on artificial light and air-conditioning. 

The existing building has been used as commercial office space for many years but needs a “significant upgrade” as well. 

Proposed works include accessibility upgrades, including new lifts and amenities.

The site has no parking but being centrally located it is close to public transport options, including light and heavy rail. 

“The additional new commercial office space will facilitate an economically sustainable future for the building and is consistent with the mixed-use area,” the plans from TKD outlined. 

“In a rapidly changing Parramatta, Murrays' House provides a considerable contribution to the character and heritage significance of its important location. It is important that this contribution is maintained.”