Bars, balconies and cafes: this is the future of 'The Office'

Offices are not what they once were. Gone are the days of sterile cubicles, fissured ceiling tiles and fluorescent lighting. Today, with workplace culture shifting, the demand is not for less space, but something different, with more break out rooms, lounges and collaborative work areas.

W Property are renowned for doing this on point, delivering cutting edge, unique creative offices for both buyers and tenants. Their developments carefully consider the usability and enjoyment of a space as well as its functionality which in in turn, has led to high demand products that generate high returns. Their latest project to hit the market ‘Merchant’ is exemplary of this. 

Deemed to be the first new strata space to come to the market in more than a decade, Merchant is state-of-the-art and world class. It will see residential apartments over seven levels of the CBD building transformed into office space, each suite featuring a private bathroom, galley bar and balcony. The building will also have exclusive shared facilities including a full-time concierge, end of trip facilities and a lobby café. 

“Merchant provides a whole new type of strata space; a hybrid between conventional strata offices and a lifestyle offering” stated W Property’s Prue Williams. “It is reflective of the changing demand from occupiers in the office space as they are much more lifestyle driven than corporate driven.”

Ms Williams continued, “The project provides more of a club-like feel than traditional strata offices, with exclusive facilities for the 42 owners that will be part of the building’s community, while the suites are quite luxurious and intimate. We believe it will attract businesses looking for something a bit different; particularly those that want their commercial accommodation to reflect who they are and what they do.” 

The suites range in size from 36sq m to 113sq m and are a follow up to W Property’s previous success at 350 George Street, a project that is now selling for $30,000/sqm - the most expensive commercial strata space in Australia. 

“We have a wait list of buyers for 350 George Street, with very few owners wanting to sell,” W Property’s Michael Williams stated “That provides strong evidence that there is high demand for quality strata space in the Sydney CBD, and hence why we have decided to do the nearby project at Hosking Place.” 

Mr. Williams continued “We have modelled Merchant off 350 George Street, but we have added many more shared facilities for occupiers, as well as balconies. The strata space in Merchant will also be more affordable than the heritage building at 350 George Street, at circa $20,000 per square metre, so we anticipate strong buyer demand when it launches to the market next month.” 

The suites at the Merchant are in a prized location in the heart of Sydney’s financial core at 3 Hosking Place which further enhances their appeal. They are now selling with a starting price of $792,000 and are being marketed by Andrew Harford and Jessen O’Sullivan of Knight Frank in conjunction with Tim Noonan and Ben Kennedy of Noonan Property.

Knight Frank’s Andrew Harford said the new strata space would fill a gap in the market left by the compulsory acquisition by the New South Wales Government of eleven buildings in the CBD. This was announced last year to pave way for the Sydney Metro Western line. 

“Owner occupiers displaced by the acquisitions commencing at the end of 2022, will be looking for alternative space for their offices,” he said. “There is also strong demand in the market from occupiers reducing their space requirements following COVID, including for those who are now living or working remotely but still want a CBD-based space for days they need to be in the city.”

Mr Harford continued “The Merchant is an opportunity to give businesses a chance to own a slice of the CBD, in a precinct dominated by Institutional owners, at a time when there is a dwindling supply of strata space. As such, we expect buyer competition for these suites to be extremely strong.” 

Contact Knight Frank - Andrew Harford or Jessen O'Sullivan

Contact Noonan Property - Tim Noonan or Ben Kennedy