Tenants inspire new lobby at Charter Hall's 65 Berry Street, North Sydney

A new ground floor lobby commissioned by Charter Hall, has transformed the building into a community hub.

The occupants were given charge of the design, activities and offerings at 65 Berry Street in North Sydney.

It includes a ‘Wellness Area’ with complimentary yoga and pilates, an auditorium which can be hired for events and used by tenants free of charge, North Sydney’s only Not For Profit café, an artists studio and a variety of events including Wellness Weeks, after work drinks and morning teas.  

“It’s exciting to see landlords going to extra lengths to attract and retain tenants,” said Michael Arcus, director office leasing at Colliers International. 

The ground floor at 65 Berry Street originally contained a series of offices (approx. 1000sqm) which has been redesigned into a collaborative lobby space. 

Architects WMK responded with a beautiful minimalist design incorporating a wellness area, artists studio, exhibition space, auditorium and communal environment.

Symbol Café , a Not-For-Profit café – the only one of its kind operating in North Sydney – which donates 100% of its profits back to the community. 

Symbol has a menu of locally-sourced, sustainable and organic food.

On payment, customers simply choose a charity to donate to causes like Ozharvest, Greenfleet and Eat Up, and can see these contributions displayed on a board at the café. 

“A Not-For-Profit cafe is an extremely rare entity – I have never leased anything of this nature throughout my 15 of years in the industry,” Michael Arcus said.

The lobby at 65 Berry Street is also home to Project 504, a collaborative artist’s studio sponsored by Charter Hall which has been established to provide an outlet for artists to showcase their work outside the mainstream gallery scene, offering artists a supportive creative working environment.

The paintings, some of which have been showcased at the Archibald, are displayed in the lobby.