Google poised to take more space in Sydney

The company is understood to be in talks to take more space in GPT Group’s workplace6 complex in Pyrmont as fellow tenant Accenture weighs up shifting out.

The pair both occupy floors in the harbourside office building and Google has offered to take up more floors, property executives say.

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Google, one of the original tenants at workplace6, had leased 9850sqm until 2021, GPT said last month, but the landlord and the tech company declined to comment on its latest potential moves yesterday.

The building also sports a unique fitout for the tech giant, including quiet zones, pool tables and a series of internal cafes.

Accenture is understood to be eyeing a shift to Lend Lease’s Barangaroo South precinct with the country’s first engineered timber office building, International House Sydney, a likely home.

The 6850sqm complex spans six storeys with wooden beams visible through a glass skin and could provide a striking home for the global consulting firm.

Lend Lease and Accenture declined to comment yesterday and agent JLL did not return calls.

Financial advisory group Morningstar has also been looking for space in the area as its lease in Australia Square expires early next year. Industry sources say it has also considered International House, but a spokesman says the firm has “not yet made any final decisions” on a move.

Google remains in talks about taking space at the revitalised White Bay Power Station.

Google also occupies floors in the Mirvac-owned Fairfax Media complex at One Darling Island but it is not certain if it taking more space in the GPT building would affect these floors.

Nor has the shake-up at Google headquarters dimmed the company’s desire to find a new longer-term home.

The NSW government’s development arm, UrbanGrowth NSW, yesterday confirmed that talks with Google, which could require up to 100,000sqm of space in coming years, were ongoing in the Bays Precinct.

If the company is able to strike a deal, it could be a catalyst for the development of the entire site as Google has long sought out a property to transform into one of its landmark global campuses.

Google, which in 2015 proposed a project in which it would have kept much of the power ­station intact with Lend Lease as the builder, remains in talks about the site.

The state agency is planning to redevelop the 10ha harbour-front site itself, despite ongoing industry suggestions that it could be more suited to residential development.

Last June, UrbanGrowth NSW agency rejected all 13 proposals submitted to redevelop the White Bay Power Station.

While Lend Lease is no longer involved with Google at the Australian site, it is in line to build the tech giant’s London headquarters.

The group was this month tipped by British journal Building to win the construction contract on the £650 million ($1.08 billion) Google headquarters scheme in Kings Cross, beating a rival bid from Robert McAlpine.

The tech firm’s British headquarters were revamped by US-Danish architect BIG and Thomas Heatherwick. The job had a construction cost of about £350m, the report says.

This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.