Charter Hall’s second Chifley Square tower gets go-ahead from Sydney Council

A planning proposal for a second tower at 2 Chifley Square in the Sydney CBD has been given the green light by the City of Sydney overnight, bringing the project one step closer to becoming a reality.

The second tower will sit adjacent to the existing Chifley North building, offering more than 64,000sqm of gross floor area for both office and retail uses, as well as a reactivated public domain at Chifley Square.

Developer Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC) says approval from the Council follows community consultation and ‘Gateway Determination’, granted by the NSW Government in February.

The Charter Hall Prime Office Fund (CPOF) originally purchased the 2 Chifley Square precinct freehold for $98.5 million in 2018 and is also one of the leasehold owners. CPOF also owns the leasehold interest in the adjoining Gresham Building at 167 Macquarie Street.

The Council’s decision means Charter Hall’s planning proposal will proceed to gazettal and a design excellence competition.

Though construction is “several years away”, the developer says the building is already attracting high-quality tenants, including a pre-commitment lease with global investment bank UBS.

“Achieving endorsement from City of Sydney is a significant milestone for Charter Hall, our investors and tenant customers, and reinforces Sydney’s reputation as an innovative and leading global city,” Charter Hall CEO Carmel Hourigan says.

“This decision reflects confidence in Charter Hall’s vision for the Chifley Precinct to encourage the return to workplaces where collaboration, mutual success and our wellbeing thrives.

“The flight-to-quality, as demonstrated in our pre-commitment leases, is how high-performance businesses are attracting and maintaining the highest-calibre professionals and ultimately, driving success.”

Endorsement from the City of Sydney comes after the Council determined overnight that all new builds will have to meet strict renewable energy targets and meet net-zero energy use from 2026.

Charter Hall says the second tower will provide best-in-class amenity and sustainability benchmarks, electrifying the whole precinct and enabling it to operate entirely from renewable energy.

The firm also says it is targeting Climate Active Carbon Neutral certification for the new building, in line with the City of Sydney’s net-zero strategy.

The redevelopment is also expected to create an estimated 1,500 jobs in the construction phase, before supporting thousands of professionals once completed.