Entertainment tsar Justin Hemmes is teaming with property giants Lendlease and Mirvac to bid for the right to build a major high-rise precinct above a new underground train station in Sydney’s CBD.
Merivale, the billionaire’s hospitality group, is part of a consortium vying to build two skyscrapers – each over 50 storeys – as well as the Hunter Street station, which will be a critical part of the $27 billion Metro West rail line from the CBD to Parramatta, handling thousands of commuters every hour.
Sydney Metro, the government agency overseeing the rail project, will shortlist bidders for the over-station development within weeks, which is set to include bars, restaurants, shops and offices in the towers, and pedestrian tunnels linking the station to Wynyard and Martin Place stations.
The two proposed skyscrapers, in red, above the metro train station will be up to 58 storeys high.Credit:City of Sydney
The underground station and the planned towers on Hunter Street, which will be among the tallest in Sydney, will form one of the most significant developments in the CBD this decade and be the catalyst for a major renewal of public space in the surrounding area.
Under the government’s request for tenders, bidders need to show that they will substantially improve the surrounding area and create a unique precinct.
Multiple sources said Merivale was bidding with Lendlease and Mirvac, and described the pub baron’s plans for a tower up to 51 storeys on the corner of Hunter and George streets as breathtaking. Under the early plans, pedestrians would be able to walk from street level to the building’s covered terraces.
Billionaire pub baron Justin Hemmes.Credit:Louie Douvis
The other tower, which will be up to 58 storeys, will be built on a site on the corner of Hunter, O’Connell and Bligh streets, part of which is owned by Mirvac.
Both towers will serve as entrances to the underground station, which will have the busiest city-bound platform on Sydney’s rail network once the new Metro West line opens in 2030.