6 May 2023
By Hannah Wilcox
North Sydney’s MLC building has been saved from demolition after a developer’s bid to transform the area’s first high-rise office block was rejected.
Developer Investa Property Group’s multi-million proposal to total the 14-storey building and construct a 27-storey office complex was refused by a judge on Wednesday; on the grounds the building’s owner had not satisfactorily demonstrated why it would be unreasonable to conserve it.
Lawyers for the building’s owner told the NSW Land and Environment Court it had reached the end of its design life, with the public interest in developing the site outweighing the interest in conserving it, alongside the expenses of refurbishing the current building.
Senior Commissioner Susan Dixon argued otherwise, saying the building, built in 1957, “was a contemporary architectural statement described at the time as ‘a glossy beacon of modernity’.”
“There is almost unanimity within the professions of architecture and heritage historians that the MLC [Building] is of state, if not national, heritage significance,” Dixon said.
“It follows that the complete demolition of the MLC will have significant, irreversible heritage impacts.”
This follows recent campaigning by architects and heritage advocates to save it, which also initiated debate around preservation of Sydney’s modernist buildings.
Interestingly, the court overturned a ministerial decision only last year to list the Miller Street tower on the state heritage register due to an “administrative error”.
Dixon said North Sydney Council had argued the loss of the building was not only permanent and irretrievable, but would cause significant harm to the environment and would not line up with council’s ambition to protect the area’s built heritage.
Although the building’s value could be seen as having been “diminished” by surrounding development and skyscrapers, Dixon said North Sydney Council asserted “MLC’s heritage value is not only retained but heightened” due to its long standing history in the area.
The Senior Commissioner stated the building’s owners had not satisfactorily demonstrated alternative options to demolition.
Investa first submitted plans to North Sydney Council in 2020 to redevelop the site.