Atlassian CEO and co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes has welcomed plans to “refresh” Sydney’s Tech Central innovation precinct, claiming that the new strategy – which will have a strong focus on attracting tech companies to the city with boosted amenities, housing and healthcare – will “breathe life” into the city’s downtown.
“So many great tech companies have been born in Australia, but this journey is infinitely easier when you have a strong community around you. That’s why Atlassian is such a big supporter of Tech Central – the new home for our technology industry,” Mr Cannon-Brookes told The Australian. “A precinct without people is just buildings; it’s not a community.”
The new plan, which the NSW Government will release in the coming months, envisions a city district comprised of six square kilometres bordered by Haymarket, Camperdown, and South Eveleigh. It will be anchored by Atlassian’s new plyscraper, a 39-storey building in the works for five years. The plan includes housing, transport links, and “vibrant dining and entertainment options.”
NSW Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said while Tech Central (already) hosted the “largest tech innovation ecosystem in the country”, there was potential for it to be much more, and the new plan would ensure “alignment of existing and future NSW government programs with district residents’ needs”.
To do this, Minister Chanthivong said the Sydney Startup Hub – the southern hemisphere’s largest startup space will be relocated to the heart of Tech Central, “giving NSW startups the best chance to flourish.” He said a “fresh vision” for Tech Central would establish the district as a “leading place to live and work and will play a critical role as future driver of NSW government key priorities including housing, healthcare, night-time economy, visitor economy and world-class transport infrastructure”.
“Specialist support within Investment NSW will scale existing work in investment attraction, brand promotion, and community building to improve the district’s economic potential,” Minister Chanthivong said, adding that Investment NSW will be responsible for attracting investment and talent to Tech Central, “facilitating better co-ordination between startups, research institutes and universities”.
Atlassian breaks ground: The timber building inside a skyscraper!
In August, Wood Central revealed that Atlassians’s new headquarters, the world’s largest hybrid building, is “a timber building inside a much, much larger building” and is out of the ground and rising fast beside the Sydney Central Train Station. Operating off 100% renewable energy and using 50% less carbon than traditional steel-and-concrete construction, Atlassian’s head of real estate, Rick Wang, said the strategy refresh was a necessity: “A lot has changed since we first committed to being the anchor tenant five years ago.”
“A fresh strategy is a sensible approach to realise the vision for the district,” he told the Australian. “By relocating the (11-storey) Startup Hub, the government has reaffirmed that Tech Central will be the centre of gravity for the tech industry in Sydney. Co-locating startups near mature tech businesses and investors gives them easy access to expertise, mentoring and finance.”
“In the past, scaling technology companies from Australia was difficult,” Mr Wang said. “When Mike and Scott (Farquhar) started Atlassian, there was no playbook and no one to learn from. But we now have Atlassian, Canva, Afterpay and others who’ve built globally significant tech businesses from Sydney. The skills base and the capital available to innovators has improved enormously.”
But Mr Wang said developing a flourishing tech industry was not just about more investment: “It’s about creating the right environment with the right infrastructure and amenity, marketing the precinct, running events, co-ordinating initiatives and ensuring that we drive the right type of economic activity into that part of the city.”
- To learn more about Atlassian’s 39-storey plyscraper – which will see 30,000 cubic metres of mass timber and 4,000 tonnes of green steel combined in the enormous build, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
