Macquarie Technology acquires $168 million Sydney R&D and data center campus site.
Macquarie Technology Group has exercised an option to acquire a land parcel in Sydney's Macquarie Park for A$240 million ($168 million), with plans for a research and engineering hub alongside a 200-megawatt data centre campus.
The ASX-listed firm's data centre arm expects to complete the purchase within weeks following subdivision approval that cleared the way for the call option's exercise. Macquarie Technology will fund the land purchase from cash reserves and corporate debt facilities, while exploring asset recycling and development partnerships to finance construction.
The 34,200-square-metre (368,000-square-foot) light industrial site lies between Talavera Road and the M2 motorway, near Macquarie Technology's existing data centre operations in northwestern Sydney. Subject to planning, power and other approvals, the first stage is expected to complete in late 2029, featuring advanced air-cooling systems and minimised water consumption.
"The new campus will support research, technology and learning opportunities in conjunction with Macquarie University," the firm said. Students and researchers will gain hands-on access to data centre, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and cloud technologies. Plans also include a public park, community garden and outdoor art gallery.
Macquarie Technology traces its roots to Macquarie Telecom, founded by brothers David and Aidan Tudehope in 1992, with David continuing as CEO. The firm adopted its present name in 2023 as it evolved from a telecom challenger into a digital infrastructure specialist and is unrelated to finance heavyweight Macquarie Group.
The Sydney-based company operates four businesses spanning data centres, cloud services, cybersecurity services for government customers and telecommunications. Macquarie Data Centres offers co-location, connectivity and engineering services from individual racks to multi-megawatt hyperscale deployments, while the government business serves 42 percent of Australian federal agencies.
The firm is building the 47MW IC3 Super West facility at its existing Macquarie Park campus, where secured capacity is set to reach 65MW. The first phase is scheduled to deliver 6MW of IT load and powered core and shell by September 2026, with management estimating the group's development pipeline will support more than 215MW over the following decade.
Macquarie Technology gained full ownership of its existing Macquarie Park campus in 2024 after acquiring two Intellicentre buildings and underlying site from Singapore-listed Keppel DC REIT for A$174 million. The facilities were occupied by sister business Macquarie Telecom under a 20-year master lease; the deal gave the group greater control over IC3 Super West development.
In March, Australia's National Reconstruction Fund Corporation agreed to invest A$200 million in Macquarie Technology through perpetual, callable and non-convertible hybrid securities. The non-dilutive capital supports sovereign cloud, cybersecurity and AI initiatives within the company's cloud services and government division, rather than the Macquarie Park land acquisition, which is funded from cash and corporate debt.
The Macquarie Park project reflects a broader hyperscale investment surge across Sydney, with global fund managers, tech companies and Australian developers competing for powered sites in Eastern Creek, Horsley Park, Minchinbury and established northern tech precincts.
Canberra-based CDC signed a 555MW, 30-year agreement with an unnamed US customer in May, billed as Australia's largest-ever data centre lease. The capacity will be delivered across campuses already under development for fiscal 2028 and 2029, including CDC's Eastern Creek complex, and lifts the operator's contracted portfolio beyond 1GW.
NextDC partnered with OpenAI in December under a non-binding agreement to plan and operate an AI campus and GPU supercluster at its S7 site in Eastern Creek, with the initial phase targeted for the second half of 2027. NextDC has also earmarked A$1.5 billion through fiscal 2027 to accelerate its S4 hyperscale campus at Horsley Park as part of a broader A$2.2 billion capital plan.
Starwood Capital joined Singapore's Doma Infrastructure and Australian telco Telstra on a 62MW facility in Minchinbury, with Starwood and Doma handling financing, development and operations while Telstra contributes the site and connectivity. The development-approved project is scheduled to enter service in early 2028 as a hyperscale-ready centre for AI workloads.
Goodman Group has proposed investing A$5 billion to redevelop a former Coles distribution complex in Eastern Creek as the 500MW Project Atlas campus. The Sydney-based developer is also pursuing the A$1.2 billion, 90MW Project Mars scheme at its Transtech Business Park in Lane Cove, underscoring the widening geographic reach of Sydney's data centre expansion.