Nothing grounded about the mooted 227 Elizabeth Street, Sydney penthouse infinity pools
At 24 levels high above Sydney's Hyde Park there could be two remarkable penthouse apartments soon boasting panoramic views towards St Marys Cathedral and Sydney Harbour from their amazing infinity pool.
Comprising three generous bedrooms each, the 520 square metre two level penthouse apartments with 63 square metre rooftop entertaining and BBQ area crown the luxury 114 apartment residential tower designed by PTW Architects at 227 Elizabeth Street, Sydney.
There's yet to been Sydney City Council approval for the probable conversion of the existing office building to residential. And the 1976 office block is currently for sale with the mooted conversion a key selling point through Jones Lang LaSalle agents Rob Sewell and Ben Hunter.
Vacant possession is likely to occur between April 2015 and June 2016 for the building which sits on Elizabeth Street with boundaries on Bathurst and Castlereagh streets.
PTW architect Andrew Andersons says the site enjoys the benefit of three street frontages as well as a 25 metre wide sunken garden to the north.
Built as the Aetna Life tower, the building’s design architect was Sir Roy Grounds, Australia’s most celebrated architect of the mid-20th century, best known for his National Gallery of Victoria and Victorian Performing Arts Centre in Melbourne and the Academy of Science in Canberra.
The existing building has an unusual concept designed to maximize the views over Hyde Park and to minimize late-afternoon heat load.
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Its floor plate of 1,070 square metres is said to subdivide comfortably into seven apartments per floor, ranging from two to three bedrooms.
Structural engineering advice has confirmed that new penetrations can be made in the load bearing precast concrete walls and that the floor plate can be easily extended to create balconies and winter gardens.
Andrew Andersons says the aesthetic concept of the adaptive re-use scheme is based on the interaction of a transparent glazed skin of frameless glass louvres floating in front of the sculptural concrete mass of the existing building.
"The resultant composition creates a compelling image encompassing five decades of architectural history engendering a sense of authenticity at the “cutting edge”.
"The 3.4 metre floor to floor heights will give generosity of scale to the interiors, rare in new buildings."
And as the building exceeds the height allowed by the Hyde Park solar access plane, the upper levels of the building will enjoy an outlook that can never be repeated.
The existing building comprises a freestanding tower over 24 levels, comprising two levels of basement parking, one level of plant, a two level retail arcade with three street frontages and 19 upper levels of quality office accommodation.
Its net lettable area is office 15,730 square metres and retail 1,522 square metres,plus 70 car spaces. It has a passing rental profile ($/pa)
for the office $11,087,219 and retail $1,036,809 plus car park income of $457,875. It potential net income fully leased is given as $10,424,935.
Offers close with JLL on August 8.
It last sold for $113 million in 2007.
