The S3 Sydney Data Centre is a significant commercial development located in Artarmon, NSW. The eight-storey facility accommodates approximately 4,000 m² of office space and 27,000 m² of data halls, supported by a basement car park and an at-grade loading dock. Developed by NEXTDC, one of Australia’s leading data centre operators, the project reflects the growing demand for purpose-built digital infrastructure. The scale of the facility, combined with the operational complexity of a live data centre environment, required careful traffic and access planning across multiple development stages.
ptc. was engaged by NEXTDC to provide traffic and parking consultancy services across several stages of the project over a number of years.
In the initial stage, we prepared a traffic and parking assessment and Construction Traffic and Pedestrian Management Plans (CTMPs) to support the Development Application. We also prepared a Green Travel Plan a condition of Willoughby City Council’s Development Consent. .
A key element of our scope at the construction stage was developing an operations management plan for the loading dock and car park. This plan addressed two distinct transition scenarios:
- Day One, covering occupancy of half the building while construction remained in progress; and
- Day Final, addressing the period when construction was complete but data hall fit-out by tenants was still underway.
Planning for these overlapping phases required a nuanced understanding of how operational and construction traffic interact in a live environment.
In 2022, ptc. was re-engaged to support a proposed modification to the approved development. The modification involved converting 2,000 m² of data hall space to office use, accommodating an additional 200 staff on site. Our scope for this stage included Detailed Design, a Due Diligence Traffic Assessment, updates to the existing Loading Dock Management Plan, and a Transport Impact Assessment, as well as services associated with the Construction Certificate and Occupation Certificate stages.
For data centre developments, minimum parking rates in DCPs often overestimate actual demand due to their distinctive operational characteristics and limited staffing profiles. We supported a reduced parking provision by demonstrating that most of the development footprint is dedicated to equipment rather than occupied workspace, resulting in significantly lower parking demand. The reduced provision was further supported by the site’s strong public transport accessibility, with S3 well serviced by the bus network and direct connections to St Leonards train station.
This approach reduced basement construction costs and enabled the space to be used more efficiently for core operational functions, such as plant, data storage, building services or staff amenities.
Client: NEXTDC
Location: Artarmon, NSW
Services:
- Traffic and Parking Assessment
- Construction Traffic and Pedestrian Management Plans (CTMPs)
- Loading Dock and Car Park Operations Management Plan
- Green Travel Plan
- Construction Certificate (CC) and Occupation Certificate (OC)
- Detailed Design
- Due Diligence Traffic Assessment
- Loading Dock Management Plan (update)
