Court saves North Sydney MLC building from demolition

The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales (NSWLEC) has quashed a developer's bid to demolish the first commercial skyscraper in North Sydney.

In 2020, developer Investa Property Group submitted an application to North Sydney Council to demolish the former MLC building, which was designed by Bates Smart and McCutcheon, and replace it with a new office tower designed by Bates Smart.

The council refused to grant permission, and the developer appealed to NSWLEC to overturn North Sydney Council's decision.

The court ultimately dismissed the appeal and upheld the council's refusal.

In its decision, the court determined that "the complete demolition of the MLC will have significant, irreversible heritage impacts."

The former North Sydney MLC building, completed in 1956, was the first high-rise office block in North Sydney and the largest building of its type in Australia at the time of its construction. It is listed as an item of local heritage.

In 2021, NSW arts minister Don Harwin directed the item be listed on the state's heritage register on the recommendation of the Heritage Council; however, in 2022, NSWLEC ordered the NSW Heritage Council to remove the listing because the minister had failed to "consider mandatory considerations under the Heritage Act."

Nonetheless, in determining the development application, the court acknowledged that "there is almost unanimity within the professions of architecture and heritage historians that the MLC is of State, if not national, heritage significance."

"The MLC 'skyscraper' (MLC), when erected in 1957 and viewed from the same perspective, dominated the North Sydney skyline and boldly declared modernist planning daring use of materials and technology as well as function-over-fussy-ornamentation. It was a contemporary architectural statement described at the time as 'a glossy beacon of modernity,'" the court found.

The developer argued that "the existing building has reached the end of its design life. As such, it submits that the public interest in developing the site and the financial burden of refurbishing the building, either in whole or part, mean that it is 'not reasonable to conserve' the heritage item," the judgement stated.

"The applicant claims that no rational user of land is likely to refurbish the building, with the consequence that the building will be land banked - to degrade progressively at increasing levels of vacancy on this strategically crucial site in North Sydney's CBD."

However, NSWLEC senior commissioner Dixon SC found that "the applicant is unable to demonstrate that there is no acceptable alternative to demolition."

"Without a proper analysis of the adaptive reuse of the MLC based on the principles in the Burra Charter, or a heritage scope of works, I do not accept that the applicant has satisfactorily demonstrated the alternative options to demolition. The applicant has not provided reasons objectively assessed, as to why the refurbishment option is not acceptable," the decision said.