Keys Handed Over for Quay Quarter Tower, Unlocking Transformation of CBD Gateway

Multiplex has today completed construction of AMP Capital’s landmark development known as Quay Quarter Tower, unlocking the iconic new 50-storey Premium grade office building at the gateway to the Sydney CBD at 50 Bridge Street.

Constructed across a four-year timeline, AMP Capital has uniquely transformed an existing 45-year-old 45,000 square metre office building into an 89,000 square metre world-class, highly sustainable commercial tower and catalyst for the revitalisation of the harbour front at Circular Quay.

AMP Capital Global Head of Real Estate, Kylie O’Connor, said Quay Quarter Tower represented a benchmark for future city neighbourhoods that inspire communities and engagement between workers, residents, and visitors.

“We are proud to have found the right balance between creating exceptional mixed-use amenity, revitalising a significant CBD precinct and delivering sustainable outcomes for our investors in such an iconic development.

“Quay Quarter Tower will truly further Sydney’s vision and credentials as a global, and green, city and the timing couldn’t be better for breathing new life into one of the oldest parts of the Sydney CBD,” Ms O’Connor said.

Comprising 89,000 square metres of premium grade commercial office space and a retail podium of 4,000 square metres Quay Quarter Tower has achieved 89 per cent pre-leasing commitment including Deloitte, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, AMP and AMP Capital, EQT, Johnson Winter & Slattery and The Work Project.

According to Multiplex, some 35,000 people worked on the project throughout the four-year construction timeframe.

Image: Lights illuminate the Quay Quarter branding outside 50 Bridge Street.

“We are thrilled to complete Quay Quarter Tower. It is undeniably the most complex build ever undertaken in Australia and embodies true innovation and a range of engineering feats, while also setting new standards in both Australian and global construction methodologies,” said David Ghannoum, Regional Managing Director at Multiplex.

He noted that one of the greatest challenges was to achieve the adaptive re-use by retaining 68% of the building’s core, marrying the existing core with the new floor plates and anticipating how the existing building would behave.

This was verified throughout construction using a rigorous testing and monitoring regime. A unique ‘top down, bottom up’ methodology was also employed to deliver the project. 

Of key importance to AMP Capital was creating a building with significant environmental and operational efficiencies.  Representing a world-first for an office tower on this scale, the upcycling and retention of the building’s core, along with materials and other considerations saved more than 8,000 tonnes of embodied carbon.

Designed by leading Danish architects 3XN in consultation with Australian architectural firm BVN, the building’s striking “jenga-like” design comprises five shifting glass volumes stacked upon each other and punctuated by atrium space, delivering expansive views of Sydney Harbour while maximising natural light deep into the floorplates.

The base of each atrium and block is connected to an external terrace and internally, atrium floor levels are connected by a continuous, spiral staircase – a signature design feature that encourages interaction and movement throughout the day.

Quay Quarter Tower will deliver the largest amount of privately-owned urban green space in Sydney’s CBD. The tower provides an acre of urban green space with a podium terrace featuring public art and sky terraces located on multiple levels across the Tower.

Quay Quarter Tower has strong sustainability credentials, including a 6 Star Green Star Office Design v3 rating from the Green Building Council of Australia for its innovative environmental features and vertical village design, which optimises the existing building’s embodied energy and resources. Other environmental ratings include a 5.5 Star NABERS Office Energy Rating Base Building, 4 Star NABERS Office Water Rating Base Building and WELL certification.

Image: An early render of the Quay Quarter site in Sydney's CBD.

Quay Quarter Tower forms part of Quay Quarter Sydney – an 11,000 square metre precinct spanning two city blocks that incorporates the 26-level commercial office tower at 33 Alfred Street and Quay Quarter Lanes, a mixed-use residential, commercial and retail laneway network featuring 104 apartments and two levels of retail across three separate new buildings, and the refurbishment of heritage wool stores, Hinchcliff House and the Gallipoli Memorial Club.

The development is jointly owned by AMP Capital Wholesale Office Fund and Dexus Wholesale Property Fund. Following completion, Rest Super, will also become a one-third owner in the asset.

About AMP Capital

AMP Capital is a global investment manager with AUM of A$177.8 billion as of 31 December 2021.

In April 2021, AMP Limited announced the intention to demerge AMP Capital’s private markets businesses of Infrastructure and Real Estate to create a leading global investment manager with a strong track record in differentiated private markets asset classes and leverage these capabilities to expand into attractive growth adjacencies. As part of the demerger preparations, in February 2022, AMP Capital announced a new brand name for the separated business as Collimate Capital and is on track to list on the Australian Stock Exchange in the first half of 2022.

About Multiplex

Multiplex is a premier construction company with a simple purpose: to construct a better future. Established in Australia in 1962, Multiplex is known for shaping skylines and delivering iconic projects around the world. It has delivered more than 1,000 projects with a combined value in excess of US$90 billion.

About Dexus

Dexus is one of Australia’s leading real estate groups, proudly managing a high-quality Australian property portfolio valued at $45.3 billion. We believe that the strength and quality of our relationships will always be central to our success and are deeply committed to working with our customers to provide spaces that engage and inspire. We invest only in Australia, and directly own $18.3 billion of office and industrial properties. We manage a further $27.0 billion of office, retail, industrial and healthcare properties for third party clients. The group’s $17.8 billion development pipeline provides the opportunity to grow both portfolios and enhance future returns. Sustainability is integrated across our business, and our sustainability approach is the lens we use to manage emerging ESG risks and opportunities for all our stakeholders. Dexus is a Top 50 entity by market capitalisation listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (trading code: DXS) and is supported by more than 30,000 investors from 23 countries. With over 35 years of expertise in property investment, funds management, and asset management and development, we have a proven track record in capital and risk management and delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for investors. dexus.com

Primary photo credit: Martin-Siegner