Charter Hall Group has completed the $110 million refurbishment of the commercial office tower at 231 Elizabeth Street, Sydney. The reimagined 23,275 square metre A-grade building will be a new flexible office hub for the NSW public sector.
The significant refurbishment works have completely transformed the ground floor area, opening and activating previously underutilised spaces to provide greater areas for collaboration, including a new lobby café and large central lounge area.
The neighbouring Hyde Park has been drawn into the building by the considered use of natural materials and greenery, promoting wellness for the workplace community.
Across the 14 levels of connected office space, workplace fit-outs offer a flexible, tech-enabled and sustainable solution for approximately 2,000 public sector workers.
The building is designed to achieve 5.5 Star NABERS Energy and 4 Star NABERS Water ratings, and a 5 Star Green Star Interiors rating.
Charter Hall’s Office CEO, Carmel Hourigan, said the Group was proud to deliver a new and future-proofed workplace for the NSW public sector, following a highly collaborative process with the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s Property and Development division.
“231 Elizabeth Street has been completely revitalised, creating a high quality, tech-enabled and connected environment that is well-equipped for public sector workers to navigate the ‘new normal’ as they return to the office.”
“This refurbishment supports our vision to create unmatched workplace experiences for organisations in both the public and private sector, helping them to maintain engaged, productive and healthy workforces,” she said.
Charter Hall is a major provider of office space to Government tenants which currently spans 89 leases in 31 buildings, across six states and territories. 231 Elizabeth Street is among the Group’s 27 office leases to the NSW public sector.
“[We have] over 360,000 square metres of office space currently under management for the public sector, and more under construction,” Ms Hourigan added.
Head of Office Investment Management and Fund Manager for the Charter Hall Prime Office Fund (CPOF), Matthew Brown, detailed that the long-term lease and partnership with the NSW Government at 231 Elizabeth Street increased the Fund’s overall weighting of Government tenants to 25.1 per cent.
“The transformation of 231 Elizabeth Street demonstrates Charter Hall’s ability to strategically identify investment opportunities. In doing so, we unlock value for our Funds by revitalising and curating existing assets to meet the specific requirements of tenant customers – in this case the NSW public sector’s need for a flexible and future-focussed agile work environment,” Mr Brown said.