The New South Wales government has approved a $350 million transformation of the 1950s MLC building by Bates, Smart and McCutcheon, at 105 Miller Street in North Sydney, into a tertiary education campus.
Led by Investa as property manager, the approved proposal involves the refurbishment of the building’s 14-storey Miller Street wing and complete replacement of the Denison Street wing with a new 22-storey education building.
It is one of several redevelopment schemes Investa has explored for the site, which has been vacant since 2022.
The first, initiated in 2020, involved a total knock-down rebuild designed by Bates Smart, which, due to community backlash, eventuated in the post-war building being listed on the state heritage register in late 2023.
More recent proposals from Investa include a design by Bates Smart for the adaptive reuse of the existing structure into a commercial office building, and the state-significant proposal to convert the building into a university campus, which was authored by FJC Studio using Bates Smart’s design.
According to an environmental impact statement by Beam, which was exhibited with FJC Studio’s proposal, the two alternatives were pursued by Investa “due to the uncertainty in relation to leasing and the need for the landowner to take some action with the site.”
Late last year, the developer won approval for Bates Smart’s commercial office scheme from North Sydney Council, however the newly approved education scheme by FJC Studio marks a significant opportunity for the site to be transformed into a university facility.
Alongside recommendation for the project’s approval, the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure’s assessment report notes that “the proposal includes retention of the exceptional aspects of the building and sympathetic additions required to fund the ongoing conservation,” and thus “would provide benefit for the community by revitalising a key site … balancing conservation of a heritage item with the need to deliver a modern education building that meets current building standards and reduces flood risk.”
If built, the approved university project would see a new ground-floor retail and student hub space established, and the basement reconfigured to include parking, end-of-trip facilities, servicing and refurbished squash courts. The approved works also include upgrades to the public domain around the site, designed by landscape architect 360 Degrees.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
