Downing Centre and John Maddison Tower Court Complex

The Downing Centre and John Maddison Tower is the main court complex in Sydney, and houses local courts, state government courts and the District Court of New South Wales. Originally built as a department store for Mark Foy’s in 1908, the Downing Centre has since been heritage-listed. The John Maddison Tower is a 27-level tower built in 1994 and occupies the same block as the Downing Centre.  

In 2011, a major redevelopment of the complex was announced to create new courts and support areas. The project was staged over 5 years and added new formal and informal hearing areas, jury deliberation and Court Officer areas to the complex. Local, criminal and civil registries were relocated along with the Judge’s Library and the existing café was also refurbished. 

The APP Group was engaged to project manage the redevelopment which included stakeholder management, heritage considerations, design team management and the strict security protocols for material handling onsite. The project had to be carefully planned as the redevelopment took place while the site was still operational.