{"id":34751,"date":"2023-10-20T14:34:52","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/massive-missed-opportunity-atlassian-loses-in-bid-to-take-over-australian-technology-park-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:34:52","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:34:52","slug":"massive-missed-opportunity-atlassian-loses-in-bid-to-take-over-australian-technology-park-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/massive-missed-opportunity-atlassian-loses-in-bid-to-take-over-australian-technology-park-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMassive missed opportunity\u201d: Atlassian loses in bid to take over Australian Technology Park – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A \u201cmassive opportunity\u201d for the startup sector has been lost after the country\u2019s biggest tech company lost its fight to redevelop the Australian Technology Park, Atlassian head of global real estate and experience Brent Harman says.<\/p>\n

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An Atlassian-backed group had been in a fierce bidding war for control of the 14-hectare site on the outskirts of the Sydney CBD, but it was announced on Thursday night that the NSW government has awarded the rights to a Mirvac-led consortium.<\/p>\n

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The winning bid is believed to be worth around $263 million and means the Commonwealth Bank will be the anchor tenant in the precinct.<\/p>\n

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This is a big loss for Australia\u2019s tech community, Harman tells StartupSmart<\/i>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is a massive missed opportunity for NSW and it\u2019s incredibly disappointing for the industry,\u201d Harman says. <\/i><\/p>\n


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Atlassian\u2019s bid would\u2019ve seen its Australian headquarters move to the precinct and the creation of a startup hub.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe approached this right from the start as being not really about us, but about how to help and grow the industry,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was never about the property for us. It was really about how we could contribute to create an environment and sense of place for the industry \u2013 for a focal point around which we could build critical mass.<\/p>\n

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\u201cComparing that to the CBA, we see a stark contrast with the two, and think it\u2019s a missed opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Richard Dale, a member of the Sydney Angels management committee, says having the tech giant take over the ATP would\u2019ve done wonders for the ecosystem.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt is disappointing to see Atlassian, a proven innovator and leader in the Australian technology scene, miss out on the opportunity to be the anchor tenant,\u201d Dale says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTheir presence would have given a big boost to having the right kind of culture on site.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The winning bid<\/b><\/p>\n

Mirvac will now redevelop the area, with the Commonwealth Bank taking over 93,000 of the 145,000 square metres on the site for its office, which will house all 10,000 of its NSW employees.<\/p>\n

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There will still be an emphasis on the site being a tech hub, NSW planning minister Rob Stokes says, with 75,000 square metres of floor space to be set aside for \u201ctech and innovation users and startups\u201d and the establishment of a $2.1 million Tech Incubation Fund to \u201cencourage technology startups to locate in the Park\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMirvac and its partners will continue ATP as a technology precinct, and the NSW government has secured ongoing environmental, heritage and access commitments for the Park,\u201d Stokes says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOur aspiration for this site is to continue the transformation from dilapidated railway buildings to a growing technology hub.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMirvac and its partners have made a commitment to revitalise the existing technology precinct, and the NSW government has secured ongoing environmental, heritage and access commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Commonwealth Bank has pledged to maintain a focus on innovation in the area.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMoving to the transformed Australian Technology Park will put 10,000 of our people in the heart of a growing technology hub, providing us with a significant opportunity to partner and collaborate with universities, start-ups and other innovative companies,\u201d a statement says.<\/p>\n

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The winning group has also entered in a memorandum of understanding with the University of Sydney to \u201csupport digital and creative industries\u201d and potentially house other tech companies on campus.<\/p>\n

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BlueChilli founder Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin says it\u2019s important these spaces are affordable for early-stage startups.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAny startup community needs to be centrally located and underpinned by cheap rent in order to increase the random occurrence of meetings between founders, VCs, engineers,\u201d Eckersley-Maslin says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf the developments at ATP include cheap, subsidised co-working spaces and event spaces that bring people together then it could help the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Atlassian\u2019s vision<\/b><\/p>\n

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Prominent Australian entrepreneur and tech investor Steve Baxter also says this isn\u2019t the ideal result for the startup sector.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI do think this is a lost opportunity to develop a tech hub that had broad community support,\u201d Baxter says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think the NSW government was trapped into a property tender, that with prior consultation to the startup sector they could have avoided and reached a better outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Harman says Atlassian\u2019s vision was for more of a vibrant hub than for a big bank\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFrom the outside looking in, we wonder how you can create a tech ecosystem while being around effectively non-tech workers,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou don\u2019t want to leave the building and feel like you\u2019re stuck in the middle of nowhere. You need to be in the thick of action and that was important to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He says Atlassian wanted the precinct to be beneficial for all members of the community.<\/p>\n

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\u201cImagine if a 17-year-old girl had just graduated from high school, then went to the ATP to do uni courses and at lunchtime she was sitting opposite an Atlassian engineer and learning about that,\u201d Harman says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThen the next day she could be sitting opposite an entrepreneur running their own startup and learn from their stories.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThese are rich interactions and make it real, that same girl can have real life experiences around what this all means. That\u2019s why we were so keen on creating it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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But with a huge upcoming public listing in the US, Atlassian will still be fighting for the Australia tech community.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re going to regroup and we plan to bring the industry with us to articulate more clearly to the stakeholders what we need to be successful,\u201d Harman says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re big believers in the Australian tech industry and in the role NSW can play. We want to continue to grow and invest in Sydney. We need find a way to help the industry grow at a faster rate or we\u2019ll outgrow it.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe saw the ATP as one lever to pull to help grow the industry \u2013 it wasn\u2019t a silver bullet. We still think we\u2019ve got a pretty compelling case, and we\u2019ll continue to talk to the industry.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re not giving up.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Do you know more on this story or have a tip of your own? Raising capital or launching a startup? Let us know. Follow StartupSmart on <\/i>Facebook<\/i><\/a>, <\/i>Twitter<\/i><\/a>, and <\/i>LinkedIn<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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