№ 15 of 24
№ 15 · Sydney CBD

Rowe Street & Lees Court

Pitt Street to the MLC Centre · 5.2 m (Lees Court 6.2 m)
Rowe Street & Lees Court
©Sam Shepherd
The reading

Rowe Street is a short pedestrian street connecting Pitt Street with the MLC Centre.

It functions primarily as a pedestrian route, with a small number of food, beverage and retail tenancies located on Rowe St and Pitt St providing ground-plane activation.

Rowe Street also connects to Lees Court, which runs through to King Street and functions more as a service lane. In the 1960s, Rowe Street was a more active retail street, accommodating a mix of smaller tenancies and independent operators.

CLAW reading
C
Connectivity
Medium

A Pitt-to-MLC link, with Lees Court running from Rowe Street through to King Street. Clear from Pitt Street, less so from the tower side.

L
Liveability
Low

Busy at lunch, fades after work. Only a few tenancies, and its history is more present than its current trade.

A
Activation
Medium

Mixed active edges: Rowe Street has good frontage from retail with some blank walls, while Lees Court reads more as a service lane with poor activation. A strong pedestrian 'ant track' runs through into the MLC Centre.

W
Width suitability
Medium

At 5.2–6.2 m the width is right for walking. What is missing is the shops.

A plain high, medium or low read on each of the four. Read across the four to see where the lane is strong and where it falls short.

On the ground
Type
Adaptive reuse
Width
5.2 m (Lees Ct 6.2 m)
Length
~40 m
Orientation
East–West
Businesses
4 businesses
Primary uses
Pedestrian access with retail tenancies
Shopfront types
Heritage and contemporary
Shopfront glazing
~40%
Built form
Heritage with office tower frontage
Activity
Lunch till early evening
Location
Approx. 300 m across · north up · Sydney CBD
©Sam Shepherd
©Sam Shepherd
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