This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
Melbourne’s CBD office market continues to heat up with Victoria Police is set to commit to a new $350 million state-of-the-art headquarters at the former City Mazda site in William Street.
As reported exclusively in Australian Property Journal in October last year, sources confirmed to Australian Property Journal yesterday that Victoria Police are set to sign a heads of agreement with developer Drapac on the 400 William Street site.
The Drapac deal would see a new state-of-the-art Victoria Police Headquarters built amalgamate all Victoria Police operations into one secure location rather than spread across the City.
The site, owned by the silent achieving Melbourne Drapac property group, was bought last year for $23 million from Suttons Holdings. Mazda has a lease over the northern part of the site which ceases later this year.
Drapac had been looking for development approval to build up to 60,000 sqm of offices over a number of campus style buildings on the unique island site.
The Victoria Police has been looking to consolidate its widespread operations into one dedicated, highly secure complex.
Victoria Police is currently located at two main locations in Melbourne with its Crime Centre at ING owned 412 St Kilda Road and it’s the SAITeys McMahon controlled Victoria Police Centre at the World Trade Centre at 637 Flinders Street. Ironically, Victoria Police administration and City West branch were once housed literally next door to its potential new HQ at 380 William Street, which is now a hotel. It relocated to its present locations in the early 1990s.
It leases over its existing locations all expire within the next four years. Interestingly, the Victoria Police Major Fraud squad also just signed a short term lease over another CBD building.
The 400 William Street site is just two blocks from Melbourne’s legal precinct, which includes the County, Supreme and Magistrate’s Courts.
Since last year, Victoria Police has been analysing a number of sites within Melbourne’s CBD and Docklands for a purpose built secured facility.
Victoria Police have been longing for a purpose built facility since leaving its 1940s built Russell Street Headquarters back in the early 1990s, a few years after the tragic Russell Street bombings that killed Police constable Angela Taylor.
The Victoria Police follows a string of new office developments earmarked within the Melbourne CBD and the Docklands area, including Macquarie Office Trust’s $180 million office tower at 171 Collins Street, General Property Trust’s $100 million Ericsson headquarters at 818 Bourke Street and the Fairfax firming up Site 6 and 7 at the Docklands for a $70 million office development.
Meanwhile, sources have told Australian Property Journal that the long awaited ANZ headquarters has firmed up Docklands as the favourite for an 80,000 sqm campus style offices.
The Docklands have two locations that can accommodate for ANZ’s needs, including Lend Lease’s Victoria Harbour and Kuok Group’s site nearby at Batmans Hill.