Tower could be cantilevered over Telstra exchange

The site of Telstra’s St Leonards exchange on Sydney's lower north shore could be re-zoned to allow a $200 million-plus tower.

The exchange, which houses an NBN point of interconnect, would remain in operation: the new building would be cantilevered over it, and will hide the exchange from the street.

“There are no changes proposed to the operation of the existing Telstra exchange building and telecommunication infrastructure within it," the NSW Department of Planning said as it released draft plans for public comment.

The development would involve construction of a 182-metre high tower with 272 build-to-rent homes, 10 “key worker housing units”, and 84 rooms for serviced accommodation and retail.

The project has been proposed for some time: in 2020, the Urban Taskforce listed the proposal (pdf) as awaiting rezoning review from the North Sydney Planning Panel.

The 524-542 Pacific Highway site is 200m from St Leonards station and 300m from the proposed Crows Nest metro station.

The project has been given state-significant development status by the NSW government.