Greenwood Centre

The NSW Government made this landmark site in North Sydney available by public tender process. The site was keenly contested, being more than one hectare of land in the heart of North Sydney. The site housed the first public school built on the North Shore in 1877 and included a building in "free Gothic revival" style that is listed by the National Trust. The proposed development on which this tender bid was based included not only a mix of office and retail facilities - which was common to all tenders - but also a Centre for the Arts, with 600-seat outdoor amphitheatre, 650-750 seat proscenium-style theatre, 250-300-seat multi-purpose theatre, 250-seat experimental theatre, rehearsal studios, administrative facilities, training/educational facilities and an art gallery. Ultimately the Government, which was undertaking a broad asset sale program at the time, declined to contribute to the Arts component and the tender bid was won by another party.

Christiana's Peter Aynsley managed the tender bid for Turner Corporation Limited and the complex was designed by Christiana's Neville Thomas, who was working at that time with Jackson Teece Chesterman & Willis. Ironically, Peter Aynsley was engaged some years later to undertake pre-completion due diligence on the development on behalf of an intending purchaser.