Zurich Tower, the new home of Zurich Financial Services Australia, at 118 Mount Street, North Sydney, was officially opened yesterday. The milestone was celebrated with a COVID-19 friendly ribbon-cutting ceremony on the building’s top floor, overlooking Sydney Harbour and the CBD.
Designed by architecture firm FJMT (Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp), Zurich’s 29-storey headquarters, purpose-built for its Australian and New Zealand operations, has delivered 20,600 square metres of PCA A-Grade office space and includes a two-level podium, a future café space, a sky terrace, three basement car parking levels and end-of-trip facilities.
The building features new dynamic working spaces which are rich in natural light, tailored to the needs of employees, and supported by the latest technology.
The building was developed in conjunction with White & Partners and Generate Property Group and purchased during construction by CBRE Global Investors in late 2019.
Construction was completed in mid-November and Zurich employees began moving in shortly after.
Zurich Tower represents CBRE Global Investors’ client’s first acquisition in Australia, with Chris Johnston, MD (Aus and NZ) noting the event marked an important milestone for their client.
“Today signifies the completion of a successful journey working closely with both Roberts Pizzarotti and Zurich in their delivery of this stunning purpose-built building,” said Mr Johnston.
“Zurich Tower has already made an important contribution to North Sydney, one of Australia’s fastest-growing CBDs, and it represented an outstanding opportunity to invest, with major infrastructure developments nearby and high demand for A-Grade office space outside of Sydney’s CBD,” he said. “It’s an exciting project to be involved in and will no doubt help to revitalise North Sydney for many years to come.”
Zurich Tower. Image courtesy of Zurich Insurance Group.
Alison Mirams, CEO at Roberts Pizzarotti said Zurich Tower is the firm’s first commercial office project.
“The building has been completed five weeks ahead of time, despite all the challenges imposed by the bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic this year.”
“This is testament to the outstanding support we received from the consultants, subcontractors and suppliers. Their support is greatly appreciated and resulted in the successful completion of a stunning commercial office tower,” Ms Mirams said.
“I’m sure everyone will be truly proud of this monumental achievement.”
Justin Delaney, CEO, Zurich Life & Investments added that the move into Zurich Tower will have significant impacts on Zurich’s team culture.
“Bringing our Sydney employees together, in a fully collaborative space, will further strengthen our culture and help us to build upon our purpose to create a brighter future together,” Mr Delaney said.
“Congratulations to the project team who have delivered a 5 Star Green Star-rated building, which will contribute to a more sustainable Australia – something we can all be proud of.”
“Our commitment to creating a sustainable place to work supports Zurich’s global sustainability efforts to minimise our environmental footprint,” he said.
