Charter Hall Group (Charter Hall or the Group) has announced that the $23 million refurbishment of its 2 Market Street commercial office building in Sydney is now complete. Ms Carmel Hourigan, Charter Hall’s Office CEO said “the building and workplace experience has been completely transformed as a result of the refurbishment, with the works being specifically tailored to meet the needs of its tenant customers.  

The reimagined space features a new activated foyer on ground level. This includes a café connecting the building to street level, an immersive digital artwork display, large auditorium, collaborative spaces for informal meetings and concierge services to deliver a high-quality integrated experience. The lower level features a business lounge, meeting rooms and state of-the-art end of trip facilities.

“With 2 Market Street, we wanted to create an extension of our tenant customers’ workspaces and provide them the opportunity to further maximise the shared space in the building. To do this, we actively partnered and collaborated with tenant customers early in the design process to gain a deeper understanding of the specific needs of their people, and together co-create the design of the new space, services and amenity.  

“Working alongside our project partners, our asset and property management teams have delivered a fantastic result, one that our tenant customers will enjoy and benefit from upon their return to the office,” she said.

COX Architecture was briefed to create engaging work and social spaces for the building, increase connectivity to Kent Street and deliver high-quality public amenity for users of the space. In response, COX created an impressive frameless glass box that links both levels of the lobby with a large auditorium space above, with the facility bookable by both tenants and the wider community for events.

The material selection and finishes of the new lobby design takes inspiration from the maritime heritage of the area to create warm, luxurious and highly detailed spaces using industrial and natural materials.

COX Senior Associate, Ingrid Kelly said: “Within what is traditionally considered a transitional space, COX has created layered and varied zones to provide new modes of working, interacting, chance encounters, sidebar discussions and of course, a frictionless transition from street to desk for the building’s occupants.”

2 Market Street is co-owned by the Charter Hall Prime Office Fund (CPOF) and the Charter Hall Office Trust (CHOT) and includes 39,865sqm of A Grade office space across a 24-storey tower and seven-storey forecourt building. The building has been designed to achieve a WELL certification and a 5-Star NABERS Energy rating, and tenant customers include Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Macquarie Telecom.

Charter Hall’s Head of Office Investment Management and CPOF Fund Manager, Matthew Brown, said “the successful repositioning of 2 Market Street reflects our asset management expertise and progressive strategy, ensuring our assets continually adapt to changing tenant customer needs. Even during challenging times, the transformation of 2 Market Street demonstrates our ability to breathe new life into existing assets, delivering enhanced returns to our investors and a better work day experience for our tenant customers.”’

The refurbishment of 2 Market Street recently won in its category at the 2020 Master Builders Association of NSW Excellence in Construction Awards.