The MLC building on Miller St in North Sydney has been bought by Wentworth. Picture: Toby Zerna
The former MLC Building in North Sydney is to be refurbished as an A-grade office block with Wentworth planning an overhaul after picking it up from Canada’s Oxford Properties Group for just over $100m.
The move ends uncertainty about the historic building at 105 Miller Street, with potential options for the site including a new premium office tower, a build-to-rent complex or even a tertiary education campus.
Investa, which manages the building for Oxford, had initially pursued a demolish and redevelop strategy over several years. But given the 14-storey building on the corner of Miller Street, the Pacific Highway and Mount Street was heritage listed, this strategy was rejected. Investa in 2022 won a legal case that overturned the heritage listing but in 2023 the NSW Land and Environment Court rejected plans for a new 27-storey office complex on the site.
Investa then investigated alternatives, including build-to-rent, commercial office and education before winning approval for a 48,000sq m premium commercial building in late 2025. This included a part adaptive re-use of the heritage-listed Miller Street wing and demolition and rebuild of the Denison Street wing.
But with Wentworth in charge it now plans to restore the existing 26,000sq m office building, capitalising on the 6,646sq m site’s position adjoining the Victoria Cross Metro Station in North Sydney. It wants to refurbish the building to a modern A-grade standard, activating the last piece of North Sydney’s core commercial precinct.
Investa confirmed it had facilitated entry into a contract for the sale of the building to Wentworth.
“On behalf of building owner, Oxford Properties Group, Investa has worked to maximise planning outcomes and optionality for the site,” it said. “For Oxford, an opportunity to divest to a company committed to the building’s future potential is the right decision for both its pension holders, and the North Sydney community.”
The heritage-listed Miller Street tower was the largest office building in Australia when constructed in 1957, and underwent significant upgrade works in 2001 and 2018. MLC occupied the building as its national headquarters for 65 years before vacating in 2022.
The acquisition will be funded from Wentworth’s flagship diversified property fund, Wentworth Real Estate Private Equity Fund I. The price reflects about a 60 per cent discount to the asset’s 2018 sale price of $260m when Oxford took the listed IOF private, which is in keeping with the dramatic reset of the North Sydney market.
This has prompted a drying up of new commercial developments in North Sydney, with about 65,000sq m of existing office space being repurposed into alternative uses, including build-to-rent, apartments and hotels. While North Sydney is suffering high vacancy rates, syndicators have already moved into the market.
North Sydney is the second fastest growing CBD nationally and benefits from infrastructure spending from the Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway upgrade.