Plans for $50m Surry Hills Office Block Unveiled

Clifton Development Group, the newly formed property development arm of non-bank lender AltX, has lodged plans for a $50-million office block in Sydney’s Surry Hills.

Clifton, led by developers Grant Price and Chris Howard, agreed to pay more than $20 million for the 444sq m site at 9-13 Brisbane Street—a corner site bordering the Sydney CBD—in July through an off-market transaction.

The existing three-storey Surry Hills liquor warehouse, which has been home to international liquor importer and retailer Goulburn Wine & Spirits for the past five decades, is zoned B4 Mixed Use.

The warehouse, which is not heritage listed, will be demolished to make way for the new six-storey commercial building.

The Grimshaw-designed office block will comprise 2200sq m of office space with a 36sq m cafe on the ground floor and end-of-trip facilities and storage for 17 bicycles.

It will also feature a 66sq m landscaped roof terrace.

Clifton Development Group partner Grant Price said the development, if realised, would be a “office building of the future” for Surry Hills, providing a best-in-class workplace and leading-edge thinking.

“This project will deliver a great result for its landlord, tenants and community while revitalising the precinct, rebuilding confidence after the impact of this period of disruption and downturn,” Price said.

The building will be in three distinct parts or a tripartite form; an opaque edge on its southern side containing the stairs, lifts and building services, a glazed core for office space and a translucent edge on the building’s northern side containing collaborative working spaces and meeting rooms.

It will be built using a fixed glazed facade held by anodised metal framing around a steel and tinted concrete core.

Grimshaw partner Michael Janeke said the translucent glazing was designed to provide maximum daylight for the sustainably-focused building while also mediating privacy and providing a canvas for public art.

“This building will aim to be net zero carbon and will emerge as the exemplar boutique office building of its neighbourhood,” Janeke said.

“Soon, the creative and tech industries that dominate the business mix in Surry Hills can look forward to a fine contemporary workplace.”

The development will target tenants predominantly from the tech and creative industries with floor plates of 350 square metres.

Tech companies based in Surry Hills include Afterpay, Audinate, Canva, Campaign Monitor, Deputy, DesignCrowd, GROW Super, Hivery, Immutable, Morse Micro, Propeller, Rokt and SafetyCulture.

Venture capital fund managers based in Surry Hills now include Grok Ventures, King River Capital, Blackbird Ventures, Square Peg and Airtree Ventures.

According to CBRE office leasing director Chris Fisher ​​competition for office space remains heightened across central Sydney—particularly around Central Railway Station and Surry Hills.

“These areas are popular due to the lease character or quirky space combined with the rental differential to the CBD; the proximity to transport and the buzz around the central tech precinct,” Fisher said.

“The fringe market is also a magnet for technology users and has an eclectic mix of occupiers including tech, IT, government, banking, creative, education, marketing, media and fashion.”

According to Savills, the pipeline of new development stock currently under construction across central Sydney totals over 180,000sq m with commitment rates high, at over 60 per cent.

Prime net face rents have remained unchanged, due to the pandemic, at $1189 per square metre while prime incentives, which will likely peak at year's end before pulling back slowly, now average over 32 per cent.