Stockland Buys North Sydney Towers in Development Play

North Sydney, pitched as the Sydney's next prime location for office tenants, is gearing up for a wave of new development as Australia’s biggest residential housing developer, Stockland, picks up two office buildings for its commercial pipeline.

Stockland has purchased 118 Walker Street and 122 Walker Street, adjacent to its existing office building at 110 Walker Street, for a combined price of $121 million.

The acquisitions of 118 Walker Street, from the Graf family, and 122 Walker Street, from investor Peter Reid, now double Stockland’s existing footprint on Walker Street.

The purchase created an amalgamated landholding of almost 2,300sq m of land and approximately 10,000sq m of lettable space within the prime North Sydney CBD.

Subject to approvals, the amalgamated Walker Street site will have the potential to accommodate up to 60,000sq m of prime office space in the future.

Stockland is in the early stages of engaging with council and local stakeholders to progress with development plans for the site.

“These acquisitions will increase our exposure to the strong office market, with a view to unlocking additional future development potential for new office and street level retail,” Stockland managing director Mark Steinert said.

“These acquisitions will increase our exposure to the strong office market, with a view to unlocking additional future development potential for new office and street level retail.”

North Sydney, currently undergoing a significant transformation, has seen mass-infrastructure investment including the new Victoria Cross Metro Station development driving increased tenant demand for the precinct.

North Sydney’s CBD has seen a wave of office projects including the Dexus-developed 100 Mount Street, which was near fully leased when it was completed, and 1 Denison Street, which has pre-commitments from Nine Entertainment and Microsoft, with Sony rumoured to be eyeing space.

The area will benefit significantly from the new Sydney Metro, which when delivered will provide a three minute travel time to Barangaroo and a five minute travel time to Martin Place, fundamentally changing the relationship between North Sydney and the Sydney CBD.

“We expect tenant demand for new, contemporary workspaces with large floor plates to continue to increase as North Sydney grows and transforms,” Stockland group executive Louise Mason said.

“We look forward to working with North Sydney Council and local stakeholders to progress our proposed plans for this site.”

The new commercial area could also tap into the city’s North West corridor, which is expected to grow about 35 per cent cent in the next decade.