Lendlease, Mirvac, Coombes to Develop Megaproject at Sydney Metro Station

Transit operator Sydney Metro has appointed Australian property groups Lendlease, Mirvac and Coombes to develop a pair of commercial towers above the future Hunter Street station in the Harbour City’s central business district.

Lendlease and Sydney Metro will deliver the new underground station, which will become a nexus of the Metro West network connecting Barangaroo, Wynyard, Hunter Street and Martin Place, according to a Monday announcement. In addition, Lendlease will develop the 52-storey West Tower at the corner of George and Hunter Streets while Mirvac and Coombes will build the 58-storey East Tower at O’Connell and Hunter Streets.

Lendlease expects to begin construction of the station’s main works in late 2026, with the station scheduled to open in 2032. The over-station developments are targeted for completion after the station opening. 

“Lendlease brings extensive experience in delivering city-shaping, integrated station developments, including Metro Martin Place and Victoria Cross, and will apply that expertise to set new benchmarks for transport-led precincts with the delivery of the Hunter Street project,” said Lendlease development CEO Tom Mackellar.

Billion Dollar Towers

The West Tower is anticipated to comprise up to 58,000 square metres (624,307 square feet) of leasable commercial area and 1,000 square metres of retail space, with a gross end value of A$2.2 billion ($1.5 billion), according to Lendlease.

The East Tower will provide 70,000 square metres of office space with premium-grade finishes, flexible floorplates and extensive natural light and views, Mirvac said in a LinkedIn post without specifying the end value.

Each tower is to feature retail and hospitality offerings alongside public spaces and laneways to create a destination for work, culture and connection, the companies said.

The update on the megaproject comes as hotel and pub tycoon Justin Hemmes pursues legal action over the Hunter Street precinct, contending that Sydney Metro changed the design and scale of the development after rights had already been awarded.

According to Hemmes, alterations such as the reduction of a hotel-led component above Hunter Street station eroded the value of those rights and disadvantaged his Merivale operation relative to other developers involved in the precinct.

Overhaul Continues

Lendlease is tooling up for the Hunter Street project as the ASX-listed builder and fund manager continues to offload balance-sheet assets under a business overhaul announced in 2024.

Lendlease’s A$2.5 billion in capital recycling initiatives during fiscal 2025 included the sale of its Capella Capital infrastructure arm to Japan’s Sojitz Corporation for A$235 million, the disposal of a A$170 million half-stake in its Asia life sciences unit to private equity giant Warburg Pincus and a A$516 million exit from its US military housing business.

Hong Kong’s Link REIT confirmed in November that it had submitted an offer to acquire half-stakes in three Australian malls held by a Lendlease-managed fund, but a binding agreement has yet to be signed. 

Last month, Japanese real estate group Tokyo Tatemono announced that it was buying a minority stake in Lendlease’s A$500 million ($327 million) build-to-rent project under construction at 899 Collins Street in central Melbourne.