Shanghai’s Greenland Completes Sydney Residential Tower First Announced in 2013

One of Sydney’s longest-running high-rise construction projects has reached the finish line with Shanghai’s Greenland Group this week announcing the completion of a residential tower in the city’s central business district.

The 235 metre (771 foot) mixed-use building, dubbed Greenland Centre Sydney, was announced in the first quarter of 2013 and began selling apartments later that year. But the project encountered delays as the challenge of developing a narrow site encompassing a heritage building and other missteps caused the state-run builder to miss its original completion target of 2017.

Greenland, which is known for its skyscraper projects in China, had invested about $500 million in Greenland Centre Sydney as its first overseas project. Troubles became apparent in 2016 when builder Brookfield Multiplex, which had been hired to construct the landmark tower, exited over reported budget disagreements.

“This project presented many construction challenges for our team, however our unwavering commitment to delivering an outstanding building to the City of Sydney resulted in many innovations, beyond its construction, that also increase its unique character and appeal,” Greenland Australia’s managing director, Sherwood Luo, said Wednesday in a release.

Once one of China’s leading cross-border investors, Greenland has sold off uncompleted projects in the US in recent years while leaving what would have been Europe’s tallest residential tower stalled mid-construction since 2019.

Rushing In

Last week, the Lord Mayor of Sydney joined representatives from Greenland Australia and its project partners at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the official completion of the structure at 115 Bathurst Street in Sydney’s central business district.

The original 27-storey building, previously occupied by Sydney Water, was cut down to 24 storeys and the remainder of the building’s concrete was removed to reveal the steel framework. This framework was combined with a support structure to strengthen and reinforce the new tower.

Demolition, which got underway in 2017 after Greenland had sold most of the homes in the tower in 2013, was handled by Melbourne-based contractor Delta Group, while the new build was undertaken by construction partner Probuild.

Designed by BVN and Woods Bagot, the tower features 479 units over 67 storeys. Occupants began taking up residence in March, Greenland said.

Some 95 percent of the project’s apartments have been sold. The remaining units include the A$35 million ($25.2 million), 674 square metre penthouse, boasting 270-degree vistas of Sydney Harbour and the CBD, and two sub-penthouses.

A glass-enclosed balcony system is in place to provide protection from wind and noise while allowing natural ventilation. Luo also touted the inclusion of the City of Sydney Creative Studios, spanning 2,000 square metres (21,528 square feet) across the first five floors of the building, to serve the city’s arts community with soundproofed rehearsal rooms, editing suites for filmmakers and studios for visual artists.

Cross-Border Frustration

Greenland Centre Sydney is about 38 metres taller than the Shanghai developer’s $1 billion Los Angeles mixed-use project, the 197 metre Metropolis, which was completed in 2019, but a far cry from the under-construction Wuhan Greenland Center, a tower in China’s Hubei province poised to reach 476 metres after being scaled back from 636 metres over airspace concerns.

The wrap-up of the Sydney project is a rare overseas victory for Greenland after some stumbles, including the 2016 withdrawal of a 1,100-unit Melbourne project in the face of fierce local opposition.

Also hitting some snags was the group’s $5 billion megaproject in New York, dubbed Pacific Park, where Greenland reportedly sold off three development sites at the 22 acre (8.9 hectare) Brooklyn complex in 2018 after revenue from apartment sales fell short of expectations.

Also in 2018, a Chinese consortium led by Greenland dropped plans for a $2 billion Bay Area site and sold its site in South San Francisco to a local builder for $308 million. In 2019 the company halted work on its 67-storey The Spire tower in London, citing safety concerns, and has yet to recommence construction on the $1.1 billion project, which it had acquired in 2016.