Undergoing redevelopment is the Sirius building at 2 – 60 Cumberland Street in The Rocks.

Commissioned in 1975 by the NSW Housing Commission, the site was used for social housing until about 2018.

It is a prominent example of brutalist architecture, comprising stacked geometric cuboids finished in off-form concrete and render.

Property NSW granted the applicant rights to purchase the site under a development agreement, which will transfer once milestones in that agreement have been achieved.

Currently comprising 79 social housing apartments and community rooms, the redevelopment will see the following:

• an increase in gross floor area by 1881sqm to 8419sqm,
• 76 residential apartments, commercial (SOHO apartments) and retail space,
• a new two-storey building at Cumberland Street for retail use and a pool, and
• a pedestrian through site link between Cumberland Street and Gloucester Walk.

While the approved development will exceed the height controls in the State Significant Precincts SEPP, the NSW Department of Planning was satisfied that the plans will protect significant views to the Sydney Opera House.

The building is not a heritage item but is recognised by the NSW Heritage Council and the National Trust of Australia as a building of heritage value.