It is doubtful that when architect Harry Seidler designed his Grosvenor Place skyscraper in the 1980s he would have imagined that $9.3 million would be spent on Italian and Moroccan marble to upgrade the old locker room in the basement.
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But so-called "end of trip facilities" and other worker amenities are in red-hot demand from big corporations and their staff, and office block landlords are falling over themselves to accommodate them.
Designed to cater for the lycra brigade that cycles to work, morning boot-campers and lunchtime touch football teams, "end of trip" facilities offer showers, lockers and other amenities for commuters and fitness junkies.
But Grosvenor Place, at 225 George Street, has taken things to a new level
As part of the $20 million-plus upgrade of the Grosvenor Place's "northern plate", the building's owners have installed not a locker room but what they're calling a "Camerino", which means dressing room in Italian.
It is operational from Monday.
It will offer controlled-humidity air conditioning, lavish individual showers cubicles with polished stone seats and separate drying areas, as well as grooming stations with hair straighteners and dryers, ironing boards and shoe cleaners.
The posh marblework is not the only feature of the shower cubicles, which also come complete with splash-protected power outlets for charging smartphones and other gadgets.
In the pithy words of the building's managers, the new facility "draws its inspiration from the abundant Italian marble and stone used throughout the six-star amenities. Shellfish and sea life fossils embedded in the polished stone add a level of refined timelessness to this world class space".
A report released by real estate group Colliers International in February cited demand for facilities like bike racks and end-of-trip areas as one of the key drivers of demand in Australia's CBD property markets. Other Sydney CBD buildings to featuring modern end-of trip facilities include Telstra's headquarters at 400 George Street and the proposed $100 million Barrack Place development at 151 Clarence Street.
Grosvenor Place Management executive director John Derrick said he expected tenants to use the facilities for a range of purposes, from changing after sport to getting ready to go out for evening functions.
"The end of trip facilities will provide the highest level of amenity for the building's tenants, invoking a feeling of decadence," Mr Derrick said.
He said the $9.3 million upgrade was part of a broader vision to revitalise the building to meet the changing work habits.
In addition to the lavish changing facilities, particular attention has been paid to those who ride to work through the dust as George Street undergoes its transformation to a pedestrian zone in coming years.
There will be 230 bicycle racks and a bike repair room housing a universal bike repair stand equipped with tools and an electric pump.
A drying room with 54 lockers includes a lycra spinning machine designed to dry clothes in eight seconds, while a vending machine stocks cycling products such as lights, tubes and locks alongside healthy snacks and energy drinks.
Opened in 1988, Grosvenor Place is jointly owned by several major property players including DEXUS Property, Investa and the Commonwealth Super Fund, run by Arcadia.
