Penrith’s newest proposed A-grade commercial building has reached a key milestone with the Development Application (DA) for 131 Henry Street formally submitted for assessment.
The DA seeks to transform the former Council Chambers at 129-133 Henry Street into a workplace of the future with 7,300 square metres of A-grade commercial space, ground floor retail, on-site parking, green spaces and a building façade that activates both street frontages.
Penrith’s City Council spokesperson, Karen McKeown OAM, said the DA lodgement for 131 Henry Street is an important step in progressing council’s vision to revitalise the city centre.
“Council is committed to investing in major revitalisation projects for Penrith such as 131 Henry Street, a new City Park and the transformation of Soper Place car park.
“Located in the heart of the CBD, 131 Henry Street will be the catalyst to set the benchmark for future commercial developments across the city,” Ms McKeown said.
“131 Henry Street will deliver essential A-grade commercial space to help keep jobs close to home and strengthen Penrith’s role as an employment hub within Western Sydney.
“Throughout construction the project aims to create 150 jobs on site with a further 430 jobs upon completion, helping to boost our local economy and contributing to a thriving City Centre,” added Ms McKeown.
Global architecture firm, Woods Bagot, won a rigorous Design Excellence Competition for the building with an innovative design that benefits both the community and the future workers.
Woods Bagot principal Jason Fraser said the climate-responsive design means this building will be fundamentally different from commercial buildings of the past.
“Informed by progressive changes underway in workplace design and the impact of recent times this will be a diverse and adaptable, breathable workspace that promotes different ways of working for different people,” Mr Fraser said.
The building will incorporate best practice principles of environmentally sustainable design and is targeting a minimum 5 Star Green Star rating in line with Council’s ‘Cooling the City Strategy’.
Council has been working closely with Woods Bagot to further develop the project’s design. This has allowed a more refined design to be submitted for assessment as part of the DA.
Council partnered with heritage specialists Curio Projects, to ensure the history of the site will be celebrated through a robust heritage interpretation strategy which includes the reuse of building elements and high-quality public domain features.
Council is also working with COLA Studio on a co-design landscaping solution that will activate the surrounding public domain and create a connection to the adjacent City Park.
