Roberts Pizzarotti tops out Zurich Tower ahead of schedule, despite COVID-19
Sydney-based boutique construction company, Roberts Pizzarotti, has officially topped out its Zurich Tower project at 118 Mount Street, North Sydney.
It is set to become the new headquarters for Zurich Financial Services Australia (Zurich).
The topping-out ceremony took place whilst taking several COVID-19 precautions into account.
It was held to commemorate the structural completion of level 29, the highest floor of the commercial building.
As part of the event, a ceremonial ‘teddy bear’ magnolia tree signified the ancient ‘topping-out’ tradition.
To mark the occasion, and in line with the current limit of 10 people attending public gatherings, Roberts Pizzarotti’s CEO, Alison Mirams, joined nine other project stakeholders, including representatives of the building’s end owner, CBRE Global Investors; anchor tenant, Zurich; Mayor of North Sydney Council, Jilly Gibson; and the Hon. Rob Stokes, MP, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces.
The ceremony was live streamed into the head office of Zurich in Switzerland.
The FJMT-designed project, developed in conjunction with White & Partners Generate Property Group, will deliver 20,600sqm of PCA A-Grade office space.
As the anchor tenant, Zurich will enjoy a new purpose-built headquarters that includes a two-level podium, café, a sky terrace, three basement car parking levels and end-of-trip facilities.
According to Ms Mirams, the completion of the 29-storey structure is ahead of schedule.
“With construction commencing in May 2018, the fact that we are holding this event today is testament to the fact that the project has progressed well, despite all the recent challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ms Mirams.
“We are grateful for the outstanding support we’ve received from all of our subcontractors who worked with us through the COVID-19 situation. Their support is incredibly appreciated and should result in the project ultimately completing ahead of time, which is remarkable given the circumstances.
“It is gratifying to know that we’ve played our part in keeping 350 people employed directly or indirectly during the difficult employment situation resulting from the pandemic and 1,300 since the project’s inception,” she added.
Managing Director (Australia and New Zealand) of CBRE Global Investors, Chris Johnston said the organisation was proud to be working closely with both Roberts Pizzarotti and Zurich in their delivery of the iconic new building.
“Zurich Tower will make an important contribution to the growth and revitalisation of North Sydney,” said Mr Johnston.
“North Sydney is one of Australia’s fastest-growing CBDs and as our client’s first acquisition in Australia, it represented an outstanding opportunity to invest, with both major infrastructure investments nearby and high demand for A-Grade office space outside the Sydney CBD.
The project team donated the ceremonial topping-out tree to North Sydney Council to be planted in one of the area’s local parks.