Redfern Telephone Exchange: Inner Sydney redevelopment potential in Telstra reshuffle
Telstra is dialling down its telephone exchange portfolio, partly decommissioning a 4000-square-metre Redfern property on Sydney’s fringe to create a redevelopment opportunity that could see it transformed into residential living.
The telecommunications giant is parting ways with its portion of Redfern Telephone Exchange, at 103-109 George Street, just 3.5 kilometres from Sydney’s CBD, in a sale and leaseback deal marketed by Knight Frank, with expectations of around $20 million.
Sitting on a 1260-square-metre block, the seven-storey building boasts 360-degree view corridors, which agents expect to be protected for future generations due to the heritage constraints of nearby properties.
The original Redfern Telephone Exchange was built in 1913 in the architectural style of Victorian Italianate.
“The zoning permits a range of future options, including residential, student accommodation, co-living, traditional office or a medical development,” said agent Will Brassil.
Redfern is considered a trendy stomping ground for students and professionals, where the median price for a three-bedroom home costs is $2.225 million.
Telstra owns a portion of the telephone exchange, and once sold, it will lease it back and decommission the site while moving some infrastructure into an adjacent building on the corner of George and Turner Streets.
The sale is considered one of Sydney’s most significant near-city redevelopment opportunities, according to Brassil.
The property – zoned E1 Local Centre – will likely be redeveloped into an alternate use (STCA).
“The Redfern property is a key site in the context of Sydney’s inner-city fringe, given that the current building envelope is already over-code and therefore there’s underlying value in the existing improvements,” he added.
“Given the site’s significance, we anticipate interest from both local and offshore groups seeking to capitalise on the property’s unique combination of scale, planning potential and income.”
Brassil and co-agents Andrew Harford and James Masselos are running an international expressions-of-interest campaign.
Harford said that while there had been limited development in the past two years, he was now seeing more groups re-enter the market and looking for investment opportunities.
“Enquiry from offshore capital, especially from South-East Asia, has markedly increased and is driving considerable pricing tension with Australian-domiciled groups.”
