A new $300 million commercial tower in booming Parramatta is starting to take shape, as The GPT Group looks to build Western Sydney’s smartest building at 32 Smith Street.
Fender Katsalidis’ design for the 28-storey A Grade commercial tower was chosen through a design excellence competition with the City of Parramatta Council.
The building will feature a ground level ‘urban room’ event space, an elevated podium terrace facing the Parramatta River and a tree-covered sky deck that capitalises on panoramic city views.
Widened footpaths, glass lift shafts and façades will improve the visual and pedestrian connection to the nearby Parramatta River and surrounding streets.
The car park will be located above ground on levels three to five to maximise ground level activation.
The project is “set to become a landmark building in the Western Sydney hub of Parramatta,” and a “collaborative and intuitive working environment for future commercial tenants”, says George Bardas, CEO of construction partner, Richard Crookes Constructions.
The “smart building” offers a host of state-of-the-art technologies, including ‘Comfy’, an app that enables building users to control their workspace with their smartphones.
The project has been designed with 6D building information modelling software and will achieve 5 Star Green Star and Silver WELL ratings.
In December, GPT confirmed that QBE will occupy 51 per cent of the 26,400sqm prime grade office building for an initial term of 10 years, with the deal including signage rights.
Announcing the deal, QBE’s chief operating officer Renée Roberts said the move to a building with better technology and modern workspace design would “encourage greater collaboration and efficiencies between teams”.
According to the Property Council’s January Office Market Report, Parramatta had the tightest office market in the country.
The development is GPT’s first in the Parramatta office market. In August, the group snapped up Eclipse Tower at 60 Station Street for $279 million.
Matthew Faddy, GPT’s head of office and logistics, says the building will add to the transformation of Parramatta.
The development is a short walk to the Parramatta Transport Interchange and planned $1.2 billion Riverbank cultural precinct which will house the new Museum of Applied Arts and Science.
“We continue to see growth in commercial activity and significant infrastructure investment in the area, and we expect demand for office space will continue to grow,” Faddy says.
“With strong population growth and improved local amenity, it will further reinforce Parramatta’s status as a major commercial centre.”
Completion of the project is scheduled for late 2020. Check out an animation of the project.