North Sydney $65.9m ‘Pencil Tower’ Recast at Metro Edge

Pre-pandemic approval for a $65.9 million North Sydney “pencil tower” is being reshaped for delivery, advancing the 31-storey office scheme more than a year after the site changed hands.

Plans for the slender infill building opposite Victoria Cross Metro at 173 Pacific Highway and 116 Miller Street have been revised to allow construction in three stages while keeping the approved envelope intact.

Maville Bay acquired the combined holdings in 2017 for about $134 million, according to media reports at the time.

In November 2019, the Sydney North Planning Panel granted consent for a commercial tower integrated with upgrades to the adjoining 116 Miller Street building and a public through-site link.

Originally lodged at 33 storeys, the scheme was refined to 31 through the assessment process.

It was also reported the property traded in 2024 for about $90 million—$44 million below the 2017 purchase—with development consent intact to an unnamed buyer.

Those approved plans provide 21,500sq m of commercial floor space across the 2305sq m site, including 11,089sq m of new office and 25sq m of retail at ground level.

▲ An aerial image of the unusually shaped 2305sq m site at 173 Pacific Highway and 116 Miller Street, opposite Victoria Cross Metro in the North Sydney CBD.

Six floors are earmarked for co-working space, with 22 office levels above and a collaboration lounge on Level 28.

A four-storey podium aligns with neighbouring 177 Pacific Highway.

Above, a tapered cantilever projects over the retained Miller Street building between Levels 14 and 18.

Woods Bagot, which designed the approved tower, described it as “the pencil tower” for “the narrow site at 173 Pacific Highway”, calling it “a unique opportunity to disrupt the traditional office tower landscape of the North Sydney CBD”.

▲ A Woods Bagot rendering of the approved 31-storey office tower, showing the slender infill form and cantilever above the podium.

Consent took effect in December 2019 and operates for seven years.

According to planning documents lodged this month by SJB Planning, the consent “was granted prior to this date on 3 December 2019 providing for a seven-year operational timeframe for the consent”.

This places the operative window through to December 2026.

A modification lodged this month seeks to stage delivery into three parts, bringing forward lower podium works and end-of-trip facilities ahead of tower construction, with upgrades to the Miller Street building to follow.

Ten car spaces would be removed under the revised staging.

Amended architectural drawings accompanying the application have been prepared by BVN, marking a shift in the project team since approval.