Sub Station No.164 defies COVID-19 downturn with commercial leasing deals

Sub Station No.164 at 183-185 Clarence Street, Sydney, Built’s distinctive new heritage office tower developed for owner Nuveen, has reached 90% occupancy with a number of leasing deals recently finalised despite the leasing downturn from NSW’s hard lockdown and the move to working from home arrangements for many companies.

Since the 12 level A-Grade adaptive reuse heritage project reached completion earlier this year, Built has signed 3,500sqm of commercial and retail leasing deals including:

• Procore Technologies (construction software tech company) levels 11&12, comprising 1,378 sqm over 5 years
• Smokeball (timesheet tracking tech company) level 9, comprising 686 sqm over 4 year
• Turner Freeman Lawyers level 8, comprising 618 sqm over 7 years
• Speirs Ryan (law firm) level 6, comprising 350 sqm over 5 years
• Massons (law firm) level 1, comprising 350 sqm over 5 years
• The Grounds – lobby café, comprising 72 sqm over 5 years

This is in addition to the four refurbished heritage floors (levels 2-5) occupied by Built as its corporate headquarters.

Built Development Director, Jono Cottee welcomed the new tenants to Sub Station No.164 who are progressively relocating to the office tower over the next three months as office workers return to the CBD and their fitouts are completed.

“Despite the challenges and uncertainty COVID-19 has brought to the commercial office market these recent deals have confirmed that Sub Station No.164 has been ideally placed to take advantage of the market flight to quality and unique boutique spaces,” Mr Cottee said.

“Tenants expectations of office spaces have evolved since the beginning if the pandemic and Sub Station No.164’s authentic character, unique design and best in class sustainability and technology features have made it stand out to occupiers looking for a hub to entice workers back into the office on either a full time or flexible basis,” he said.

Designed by fjmt, Sub Station No.164 at 183-185 Clarence Street ambitiously revitalises two historic Sydney buildings into one of the city’s most distinctive A-grade office towers with a seven-level sculptural glass extension, which sets a new benchmark for future heritage development.

The tower is ideally designed for mid-tier businesses in tech, professional and financial services looking to occupy a unique boutique tower where they can command full floors to make a statement about their brand as well as entice their workers back to the office.

Sub Station No.164 also includes COVID-safe features such as contactless automatic doors and sanitary fixtures to bathrooms, access control lifts and provision for temperature checking in office lobbies. It also offers end-of-trip facilities for 66 tenant and 33 visitor bikes. The tower is projected to achieve 6 star Green Star and 5 star NABERS Energy ratings as well as Platinum WELL rating for the Built fitout.

Global construction management software provider, Procore Technologies has recently taken the top two floors within the tower’s glass sculptural extension. Procore Vice President APAC, Tom Karemacher said over the past 12 months the company’s Real Estate, Revenue, Talent, and Finance teams have studied the Sydney market to identify locations that align with their mission and brand.

“Sub Station No.164 raises the bar for the future of work at Procore. The reimagined heritage building will be an innovative space for us to work towards our vision of improving the lives of everyone in construction. Built’s focus on sustainability and industry-leading technology reflects our own ethos and our teams look forward to moving into the new space,” Mr Karemacher said.

Commenting on the announcement, Rick Marston, Head of Australian Transactions for Nuveen Real Estate, said: “We are extremely pleased with our partnership with Built. The high volume of leasing deals for this asset demonstrates the quality product Built has developed and is in line with Sydney’s strengthening commercial market.

“We are also proud to provide a property that aligns with Nuveen’s focus on ESG, and creates a space that contributes economically, environmentally and socially to its surrounding neighbourhood,” he said.

Sub Station No.164 has continued to receive plenty of industry interest as a standout world class example of successful heritage adaptive reuse and recently feature on Seven Nightly News. You can watch the full report here