Sydney’s stance on skyscrapers is shifting—with altitude.
The City of Sydney has endorsed planning proposals to lift height limits for two major commercial towers over 300 metres.
These are Dexus’s 310m building at 56-60 Pitt Street and Lendlease’s 319m tower across O’Connell and Spring streets.
Both have been in planning for years and, once built, would eclipse the city’s tallest commercial building to date, Salesforce Tower at 263m, and surpass the city’s tallest to date, Crown Sydney’s 271m mixed-use One Barangaroo.
The city supported the height increases under its Central Sydney Planning Strategy, which it describes as the most significant review of city-centre planning in more than 45 years.
“If we want Sydney to maintain its status as a global city and economic powerhouse, it’s vital that we safeguard economic floor space whilst allowing residential development to continue in the city centre,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.
The northern CBD cluster—favoured by the financial, legal and tech sectors—was a key focus of the review.
The changes are backed by three years of block-by-block analysis of sun and wind impacts across the city.
“We can build tall towers in the city, we can see our skyline rise with iconic, sustainable buildings, when we follow deep, evidence-based work that considers the current and future needs of our city,” Moore said.
Dexus’s 70-storey tower, designed by FJC Studio, would deliver 90,000sq m of office space, ground-floor retail, a new public plaza and a pedestrian link connecting Pitt, Spring and Gresham streets.
The endorsed amendment lifts the site’s height limit from 235m to 310m and increases its floor space ratio from 22.5 to 25.5, according to planning documents.
The site—described as a “near-island” block bounded by Pitt, Spring and Bridge streets—was assembled by Dexus from 2019, beginning with the $177-million acquisition of 58 Pitt, 60 Pitt and 3 Spring Street on delayed settlement terms.
Dexus already owned the 56 Pitt Street tower and has since consolidated adjoining strata.
Planning documents said the site was earmarked early as a strategic candidate for tall commercial development due to its central location, limited overshadowing and street-level activation potential.
Over the road at 1-25 O’Connell Street and 8-16 Spring Street, Lendlease is planning a 71-storey, 319m tower on a 6737sq m site, designed by Matthew Pullinger Architect and Stewart Architecture.
It would deliver about 150,000sq m of commercial floor space and include a through-site link, a shared precinct logistics hub and the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings, including Rofe Chambers and the NSW Trustee and Guardian buildings.
“These buildings will provide future workplaces that are in line with what business expects and that are essential for Sydney as a globally competitive city,” Moore said.
The proposals are progressing as State Significant Developments, with Gateway Determination already granted for Dexus’s Pitt Street plan.
