Scentre Group and its joint venture partner, Cbus Property, have lodged a stage-two development application with The City of Sydney for an iconic mixed-use development to transform the David Jones Mens store into Sydney’s pre-eminent luxury destination.
The plans include a flagship, highly-anticipated extension to Westfield Sydney – the City’s home of luxury – to the adjacent David Jones Men’s store site when David Jones’ vacates in mid-2020. Connecting via existing bridge and tunnel links to the David Jones Men’s Store, the extension to Westfield Sydney will anchor Sydney’s well-established Castlereagh Street luxury precinct.
Cbus Property will deliver six levels of high quality, A-grade office space of approximately 2,000m2 per level within the existing building.
Above the iconic existing heritage building will be a striking, 22-level luxury residential tower with stunning views of Hyde Park and Sydney Harbour beyond. The approximately 100 boutique apartments will have outstanding interior designs and finishes to complement the world class view.
View looking west from Hyde Park (towards Market Street)
Scentre Group Chief Operating Officer, Greg Miles, said: “At the heart of these plans is the unequalled opportunity to transform an iconic site from Sydney’s past into a contemporary precinct offering experiences and ambience that reflect the lifestyle and aspirations of our global city.
“We have seen strong growth in luxury retail at Westfield Sydney, with the centre currently experiencing a wave of luxury brand rejuvenation, expansion and renewal. Since 2010, we have tripled the number of luxury retailers at Westfield Sydney and our flagship centre is now home to over 36 luxury and international brands, many unique in Australia or Sydney. The most recent luxury opening was Moncler in January 2019, and Balenciaga will follow shortly. These are in addition to Valentino, Loewe, Chaumet, Roger Vivier, Berluti and Saint Laurent who all opened in 2018.” he said.
“Along with our JV partner, Cbus Property, we are looking forward to delivering this landmark development, which signals the next evolution for Westfield Sydney. On completion, the expanded Westfield Sydney will comprise approximately 10,000m2 of luxury retail space over three levels.
“Combined with the existing Westfield Sydney and David Jones’ $200 million investment into its Elizabeth Street store, the development of the David Jones Men’s store site will cement the precinct as Sydney’s pre-eminent luxury retail destination,” he continued
Cbus Property Chief Executive Officer, Adrian Pozzo, said, “Lodging the stage-two development application is a milestone for the joint venture partners that follows several years of design development and consultation with authorities and other stakeholders to ensure that an appropriate outcome is delivered of the highest quality that is befitting of such an iconic site.”
“The office component will offer exceptionally large floors and with only six levels available for lease, we expect strong tenant interest due to the building’s central location, overall quality of the whole development, high ceilings and flexible layouts.
“The addition of the residential tower to the existing building has been designed to have a striking presence on the Sydney CBD skyline. With only around 100 apartments, we expect strong market interest from discerning purchasers who will enjoy central CBD living, outstanding interiors and iconic Hyde Park and Sydney Harbour views,” he said.
Last year, following a global design competition, the joint venture partners appointed FJMT Architects to create a leading architectural design that establishes a landmark mixed-use luxury building that responds to and reflects the site’s unique history and iconic CBD setting.
The approach FJMT has taken will ensure the meaningful and successful adaptive reuse of one of Sydney’s well-known historic buildings and build upon its rich past.
