The top end of Sydney’s office market is showing signs of strength, with the under-construction Parkline Place tower winning a major commitment from the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The move to the tower, being delivered by Investa for Oxford Properties Group and Mitsubishi Estate Asia, reflects the desire of tenants to secure top-quality spaces, notwithstanding the shift towards hybrid work, and the still tough precommitment market.
Big tenants are being prompted to shift partly as they resume normal operations in the office and as new developments are readied. The DPP is moving out of 175 Liverpool St, as that building has been earmarked as a site for luxury apartments by billionaire Hui Wing Mao’s Shimao Group.
The NSW government confirmed it had secured workplace accommodation at Investa’s new Parkline Place development in Sydney’s CBD.
“Parkline Place will allow the ODPP to remain located in the heart of the legal district, in a flexible, modern and sustainable office environment, supporting them to deliver essential legal services for the people of NSW,” a NSW government spokesman said.
Investa investment manager, Pele Alt, called Parkline Place the city’s most connected, amenity-rich commercial building. “ODPP will occupy 9,385sqm, being the entire four floors of the podium,” she said.
The leasing deal includes a 12-year term, with two, five-year extension options. Investa has argued that the topflight offices will continue to attract tenants even in the face of broader market malaise which has hit lower grade offices.
The ODPP joins accounting, tax, and advisory services firm BDO Australia in the complex, which sports sweeping views across Hyde Park, the eastern Harbour, and the city. BDO will take 6,100sq m across levels 22 to 25 of the tower on the corner of Pitt and Park streets. The deals rank among the largest leases to be executed in the Sydney CBD since the pandemic emerged.
Parkline Place, due for completion in 2024, is part of the integrated over-station development atop the under-construction Sydney Metro Pitt Street Station.
Investa and Oxford are also undertaking another build-to-rent tower under their Indi venture as part of the overall development. The A-grade 39-storey commercial tower has 47,839sq m of office space across 30 levels, and 1,285sq m of hospitality and retail.
Parkline Place is designed by acclaimed architects Foster + Partners and is being built by CPB Contractors.
The design uses adaptable large and small spaces and environments, including hotel-quality end of trip facilities, social hubs, a multipurpose podium area, breakout spaces and interconnecting stairs. It will be powered by renewable energy and will be net-zero when operating.
“Oxford has a long-term investment thesis that well-located, best-in class workplaces that are green, smart and focused on wellness and employee experience will continue to outperform,” Oxford Properties head of Australia, Alec Harper, said.
Mitsubishi Estate Asia head of Australia, Yuzo Nishiyama, said Parkline Place reflected global gateway city trends for unified integrated station developments, where commercial towers were integrated into a city’s transport system.
“Over time, they become as much a part of the city infrastructure as the transport network itself, and this is why they attract high calibre organisations from both the public and private sectors.
