The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinarsUrbanity
Industry Excellence
Urban Leader
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
Urban Leader Awards Logos RGB White
NOMINATIONS CLOSE SEPTEMBER 12 RECOGNISING THE INDIVIDUALS BEHIND THE PROJECTS
NOMINATIONS CLOSING SEPTEMBER 12 URBAN LEADER AWARDS
LEARN MOREDETAILS
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
ADVERTISEMENT
SHARE
1
print
Print
OtherNina HendyMon 24 Oct 22

Sydney’s Tech Central to Welcome 25,000 Workers

Sydney Tech Central

Sydney’s colossal Tech Central precinct is being positioned as Australia’s answer to Silicon Valley.

But University of Technology Sydney director of entrepreneurship Murray Hurps is unsure whether enough thought is being given to the unifying elements of the development.

The ambitious NSW government project is made up of six neighbourhood hubs, spanning the suburbs of Haymarket, Surry Hills, Ultimo, Redfern, Chippendale and Everleigh.

It will include about 250,000sq m of space for tech start-ups, who will be able to access rent subsidies from the state government, creating 25,000 innovation jobs.

As well, Dexus has inked a transformative deal with Atlassian to fund, develop and invest in Atlassian’s new headquarters in the precinct. The development is next to Central Place Sydney.

Dexus will fund 100 per cent of the project costs during construction and will retain an estimated 60-65 per cent equity interest in the asset. Total project costs are expected to be around $1.4 billion, with construction expected to reach completion in 2026. 

As tenants begin to move into the buildings, how the growing number of developers, investors, real estate agents and tenants will find a way to work harmoniously together to ensure the project is unified remains, according to some, unclear.

Tech Central will not have a single ownership and there is currently no ground-plane solution connecting and unifying the project. Somes are also questioning if there are enough start-ups in the post-pandemic landscape to fill the spaces.        

Hurps was involved in the original business case for the project. He wonders whether, as more people get involved in the project, the big-picture vision could, over time, be watered down.

For example, the office space above Union Station in Sydney will have 2000 people working in different start-ups. 

“Australia’s economy is built on technology adoption and adaption from all parts of the world, enabled by our multicultural population,” he said.

“An eclectic set of buildings taking inspiration from around the world but adapting them to the local environment could almost be a perfect physical representation of this history and future for Tech Central.

“I hope the buildings are each able to project and maintain a distinctiveness of purpose and of tenants that can rapidly be understood and engaged with by the public, so that distinctiveness can increase over time.”

Artist impression of Tech Central in Sydney.
▲ Tech Central has the potential to be a focal point for an economic transition for Sydney and Australia.

Developers who wanted to solve infrastructure issues in the technology sector post-pandemic needed to be certain that they understood how the spaces would be utilised and by whom, Hurps said.

Tech Central had the potential to be a focal point for an economic transition for Sydney and Australia, enabling a vibrant ecosystem of rapidly growing technology-enabled companies, all creating high-paying new jobs, new exports and productivity uplift for Australia, he said.

“This precinct will allow people and companies to share what they otherwise couldn't, to attract what they otherwise couldn't, and to show people what's possible in their own career choices. It will need to be more than just distinctive buildings to achieve this though,” Hurps said.

“The pandemic has had a terrible impact on Australian start-ups as well as the incubators, accelerators and early-stage venture capital that supports them.

“Hard infrastructure is great but outside that we have a lot of work to do to rebuild the start-up ecosystem we had just three years ago and much more work to do to achieve the ambitions and potential of this precinct.”

Meanwhile, technology-focused coworking space provider Tank Stream Labs has moved into five floors of the Transgrid building at 24 Campbell Street in Haymarket.

Chief executive Bradley Delamare said that a diversification of property offerings was crucial.

“Not all businesses want A-grade corporate offices, so how will the property be diversified to attract a variety of businesses?” he said.

Industrialdo not useAustraliaPlanningTechnologyPlanningSector
AUTHOR
Nina Hendy
More articles by this author
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
Stockland bumps up its apartment pipeline in melbourne and sydney
Exclusive

Stockland Re-Enters Density in $5bn Apartment Play

Renee McKeown
4 Min
Woolloongabba Precinct Vulture St
Exclusive

Brisbane Developer in Cross River Rail Compensation Tussle

Clare Burnett
4 Min
The Mondrian Gold Coast hotel's food and beverage is driving profits
Exclusive

Touch, Taste, Theatre: What’s Driving Mondrian’s Success

Renee McKeown
6 Min
Fortis’ display suites are designed as brand environments first, with tactile details and curated design to build buyer confidence before project specifics.
Exclusive

Relevant or Redundant: Will Tech Kill Display Suites?

Vanessa Croll
7 Min
Exclusive

Missing Heart: Why The Gold Coast Needs a CBD

Phil Bartsch
7 Min
View All >
The Adelaide purpose built student accommodation market is about to increase by 1058 beds with the State Commission Assessment Panel supporting two towers in the making.
Student Housing

Highrise Approvals Add 1000-Plus PBSA Beds in Adelaide

Renee McKeown
Stockland bumps up its apartment pipeline in melbourne and sydney
Exclusive

Stockland Re-Enters Density in $5bn Apartment Play

Renee McKeown
Aerial view of Caboolture and Bruce highway to Brisbane with Bribie Island Road crossing, Queensland, Australia
Policy

Queensland’s $2bn Push Opens New Housing Front

Vanessa Croll
First projects named in a statewide plan to fast-track supply, including thousands of homes in a major growth region…
LATEST
The Adelaide purpose built student accommodation market is about to increase by 1058 beds with the State Commission Assessment Panel supporting two towers in the making.
Student Housing

Highrise Approvals Add 1000-Plus PBSA Beds in Adelaide

Renee McKeown
3 Min
Stockland bumps up its apartment pipeline in melbourne and sydney
Exclusive

Stockland Re-Enters Density in $5bn Apartment Play

Renee McKeown
4 Min
Aerial view of Caboolture and Bruce highway to Brisbane with Bribie Island Road crossing, Queensland, Australia
Policy

Queensland’s $2bn Push Opens New Housing Front

Vanessa Croll
2 Min
JQZ Parramatta EDM
Residential

JQZ Plots 10-Storey Addition to Parramatta ‘Auto Alley’ Plans

Clare Burnett
3 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/sydney-tech-central-to-welcome-25000-workers