VICTORIA CROSS INTEGRATED STATION DEVELOPMENT
Rising directly above a live metro station, Victoria Cross is visible from across Sydney – a new marker on the North Sydney skyline and a rare example of transport infrastructure, workplaces, retail and public life stacked into one. Built while trains ran beneath it, the project fuses underground rail, retail, civic space and a 42-storey commercial tower into a single, tightly choreographed urban system.
Part of Sydney Metro City & Southwest – the largest urban rail project in Australian history – Victoria Cross is the largest station box on the line. Creating a new civic heart for North Sydney through transport oriented development was only delivered through the kind of commercial discipline and independent oversight that only becomes visible when everything must work all at once.
At a glance
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ClientLendlease
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Services
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sectorCommercial, Infrastructure, Mixed Use
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LocationSydney, Australia
Certainty where complexity converges
RLB was engaged as the Independent Certifier responsible for both cost management and certification, running two parallel teams to provide commercial discipline while independently assessing progress, variations and completion. This dual role brought a methodical lens and common-sense judgement to a highly constrained, live urban environment.
Built while trains ran beneath it, the project fuses underground rail, retail, civic space and a 42-storey commercial.
RLB’s role was to translate complexity into clarity allowing the Victoria Cross station to operate safely, while the tower could rise above it, and the city could keep moving. Watching North Sydney’s second-tallest building take shape day by day was a rare privilege, and we are immensely proud of our role.Oliver Nichols, Director, RLB
People were using the station long before the building above it was finished and most had no idea a 42-storey tower was rising overhead. Our job was to make sure that what looked seamless to the public was underpinned by safe access and decisions that worked for all the various stakeholders on site. That meant asking difficult questions early, and pragmatically ensuring the obligations of the various contracts were met in a live real-world environment.Doug Rayment, Senior Consultant, RLB
RLB’s methodical coordination of multiple contractors with overlapping responsibilities enabled a staged handover, keeping public and tenant access to the station live well ahead of the tower’s completion. And despite the scale and complexity of the project, all the variations were finalised before the final separable portion was completed – an outcome that reflects disciplined process, commercial clarity and commitment and trust on all sides.
Urban life, layered upward
Designed by Bates Smart, the tower delivers large, light-filled floorplates and premium workplaces above one of Sydney’s busiest transport interchanges.
Composed as a series of stacked volumes, Victoria Cross is a stunning landmark from afar that unfolds on approach as layered public spaces draw people into the building rather than past it.
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35floors
of office space commercial tower
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1,700m2
maximum floorplate size
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6star
Green Star, net zero base building
Clarity between contract and construction
RLB acted as a trusted, independent voice between developer and contractor, identifying risks early and allowing pragmatic solutions to emerge without compromising safety, access or long-term performance. “The project was broken into separable portions – the station, the car park, the podium and the tower – but defining where one ended and another began wasn’t straightforward,” Doug Rayment notes. “We went through many iterations of drawings to get that right. That’s the essence of RLB’s role: forensic and focused on making sure what’s agreed can actually be delivered safely and sensibly on site.”
Precision under pressure
The project unfolded amid COVID disruptions, industrial action, supply chain stress, weather delays and subcontractor insolvencies. RLB helped navigate complex extensions of time and tenant impacts, and today blue-chip tenants are moving into one of North Sydney’s most sought-after new addresses.
“What people don’t always see is how many parts of RLB were involved in Victoria Cross’ development,” Oliver Nichols concludes. “Around two-thirds of the Sydney office touched this project in some way – cost management, certification, engineering services, replacement cost advice, programming. That depth, and the way our teams collaborate seamlessly, is how progress was made on a project this complex.”
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