City fringe leasing on the rise in Sydney as Blackmores joins the rush

Listed group Blackmores has joined the rush to the city fringe with a new lease at the recently developed Habitat House in Surry Hills, Sydney.

The pharmaceutical company will take out three floors at 64 Kippax Street, a new office initiative by the April Group. The property has been repositioned to offer tenants a focus on wellness and more collaborative spaces.

Blackmores will join Sony, while technology company Audinate will move into the sixth floor and Guzman y Gomez will take residence on the first floor.

Colliers International and Karbon Property's agents advised on the leases and said Surry Hills was transforming, "offering employees lifestyle and amenity, which in turn is attracting larger tenants seeking to secure and retain talent".

Habitat House will be the home of Blackmores' new city campus designed to meet the growing needs of the group's workforce with a central Sydney location and the best amenities on offer, according to Shane Fennell, director of commercial operations at Blackmores.

"The site at 64 Kippax Street highlights the city fringe as a first-choice location, which is on par with the CBD, in terms of staff retention, accessibility, outstanding amenity, overall building quality," said Euan Matheson, director of office leasing at Colliers International.

"The building has been designed with the tenants in mind; the extensive roof garden at Habitat House ... has been delivered in recognition of the correlation between mental health and the lack of green space within Sydney’s inner-city suburbs," April Group's David Briscoe said.

Joshua Watts, Karbon Property director, said 64 Kippax Street would be the first major office repositioning exercise since Holt&Hart at 50 Holt Street, Surry Hills.

Other developments in the area include Canva’s commitment to 5000 square metres at 110 Waterloo Street.