Kador Plans $20m Restoration of Millers Point Heritage Building

Kador Properties is planning to invest $20 million in the restoration of a heritage-listed property in the historic Sydney harbourside enclave of Millers Point. 

The site at 1-17 Kent Street is a refurbished, heritage-listed commercial building, formerly the Oswald Bond & Free Store.

The five- and six-storey building was tenanted by STW Communications Group Limited until until June—Kador has now taken the opportunity to renovate. 

An application to the City of Sydney council outlines the developer’s plans, which involve basement upgrades, reconfiguration of parking spaces, internal upgrades and fitout works and replacing the roof from the 1980s.

Works costing $9.6 million would reconnect and interconnect internal work spaces across the four floors of offices, and look to restore existing double-hung timber-framed windows. 

The six-storey Victorian building between Argyle Place and the Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel was built between 1892 and 1903.

Architecture firm Gensler is working on the restoration with the aim of restoring the site to “original prominence in Sydney’s history of innovative international commerce”.

Balustrades will replace full-height fixed glazing in the Atrium to create “a more open and cohesive space”. 

“By undertaking the outlined interventions, the Oswald Bond store will be restored to its former glory, while incorporating modern design principles and sustainability measures,” the development application said. 

“The project will not only revitalise the building but also contribute to the reinvigoration of Sydney’s architectural heritage. 

“Our ambition is for this project to become an exemplar for sustainability and a demonstration of [the] importance of embracing existing office buildings in recognition of their valuable embodied carbon.” 

Kador Properties has a portfolio of prominent historic buildings, including the 26-storey 500 Collins Street in Melbourne that was bought by the company in 2002, and 39 Hunter Street, a heritage-listed office building, which it says was the first heritage-listed office building to achieve 6 Star Green Star rating. 

The industry has refocused on adaptive reuse projects in recent years as uncertainty in the office sector bites and developers struggle to make new build offices stack up.

GDI Group reworked its plans to include an adaptive reuse of part of its 21-storey Perth office tower while Dexus lodged plans to redevelop an Ultimo site into A-Grade offices.