Creative tenants move into new Marrickville development redefining inner-city industrial space

The build has challenged the industrial building model’s status quo and uniquely went up, not out, in a prime location seven kilometres from the CBD with excellent public transport connections.

The unique development, which looks much like a cool new residential block, blends into the streetscape of the eccentric and gentrified Inner West suburb that is home to a culturally diverse arts, foodie and independent brewery scene, where the residents’ average age is 20 to 39.

In partnership with Rebel Property and Braxton Capital, the build took a year and a half and $60 million, including land, to bring it to life. Print Club Ltd. and Vamos Bikes are among those who have taken up residence.

The 66 workspaces are a mix of retail, creative industrial and commercial, with storage units and game-changing same-level individual parking for workspaces bathed in “an abundance of natural light”. 

Access is 24/7 – much like the service of a traditional storage unit – and the spaces range in size from 73 to 234 square metres, with flexible floorplates to future-proof businesses as their needs evolve. It boasts solar panels, high-quality finishes, and even balconies with city views.

The development is part of TOGA Group’s strategy to transform and invest in Sydney’s inner suburbs, with another development by Charter Hall being its recent three-storey warehouse with office space, Ascent on Bourke, in Alexandria.

Paul Shaw, executive general manager of development at TOGA Group, says a solution was needed in streetscapes where smaller land lots are the norm.

“MADE Marrickville is Australia’s first four-story industrial and commercial development and is an example of the innovative solutions that Sydney’s increasingly densifying areas, like Sydney’s Inner West, need,” he says.

“By building upwards, and not outwards, TOGA is providing spaces for businesses like Print Club Ltd. and Vamos Bikes to thrive while hosting a range of services for the area.

“We are proud to provide sustainable and innovative solutions for businesses, allowing them to connect with their local communities and new customers.”

The site’s community amenities include a food and beverage marketplace that spans 680 square metres, with an additional 763 square metres of prime retail space, for both consumers and trade.

MADE Marrickville is connected via a laneway to another recently completed TOGA project Wicks Place, home to 270 architect-designed apartments and has anchor tenant Harris Farm on the ground floor, a fresh fruit grocery chain providing lunch-break sustenance.

Gentrified Marrickville attracts residents who can shell out $2.1 million for a three-bedroom home, as well as businesses, innovators and entrepreneurs drawn to the vibe of the suburb, where Greek delis blend in with Asian grocers.

Shaw says there has been “strong initial demand” for the innovative development, with 21 still available to purchase.

“We expect this demand to continue with the remaining third of the spaces for sale,” he adds.

CBRE research indicates that multi-storey warehouses are expected to account for about 15 per cent of Sydney’s new industrial stock until 2027, highlighting a shift towards the vertical industrial spaces favoured in cities such as Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

MADE Marrickville has attracted a diverse mix of creative entrepreneurs, including Elizabeth Corkery, co-owner of fine print studio Print Club Ltd, and Conrad Pattinson, co-owner of e-bike retailer Vamos Bikes. Both are drawn by the development’s versatility, vibrant community and the potential to grow their businesses in a dynamic Inner West hub.

Print Club Ltd

Corkery and her husband, Graham, run Print Club Ltd, an art consulting studio and fine print publishing business specialising in limited-edition silkscreen prints on paper.  

Recently moving back from the US, the pair found it challenging to find a space that suited their unique design needs. However, moving into a 73-square-metre lot at MADE Marrickville, the pair feel like they have found “home”.

“We were searching for a while as we wanted a space that could double as both a showroom and a working area,” says Corkery. “When we came to MADE Marrickville and saw we could have a downstairs working area and the mezzanine as a space to store our prints and hold clients. We knew it was what we had been searching for and had to jump on it”. 

Originally from Sydney and moving back to Marrickville last November, Corkery feels they’ve found the perfect studio space.

“It is the first studio we have bought and we are so excited by the possibility of no longer being at the mercy of the market and instead, being able to focus our energy on our business.”

The pair love being back among the thick of life in Marickville, but the thing Corkery loves the most is being able to “create and connect with like-minded tenants”.

Vamos Bikes

Conrad Pattinson and his childhood friend Michael Fatouris have run a small business selling e-bikes as a sustainable alternative to cars for the past eight years, and are swapping their bike warehouse in Mascot, near Sydney Airport, for MADE Marrickville.

The pair will bring a unique offering to Marrickville, an area infamous for congestion, and benefit from increased foot traffic and the convenience of the surrounding amenities.

Pattinson says the new digs exceeded his expectations, given he’d seen a number of warehouses in his time.