This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
REAL estate and investment giant Hines is set to commence speculative construction on a $200 million office building that Melbourne’s tallest timber structure, making its contribution to the growing commercial market of inner suburb Collingwood.
Rising 15 levels, the 36 Wellington Street building will have 18,200 sqm of net lettable with average floor plates ranging from 900 sqm to 1,500 sqm.
Construction on the project, known as Wellington, will kick off in the upcoming quarter and target completion in the same period of 2023. As Melbourne’s first timber building, it is designed to achieve 5 Star NABERS and 5.5 Star Green Star ratings as a minimum.
Hines is clearly confident of filling the building after a redesign to accommodate workplace changes in the wake of COVID-19.
“Timber construction increases staff connection to their workplace, creating an enjoyable working environment which will appeal to forward-thinking tenants seeking a true ‘live, work, play’ balance for their staff,” Hines director Simon Nasa said.
“We are all about creating collaborative and adaptive workspaces that respond to the changing needs of progressive businesses, blurring the boundaries of what an office can do. ‘Wellington’ will be a Collingwood office just like the suburb itself; a melting-pot of ideas and innovation.”
Hines has appointed Colliers’ Travis Myerscough and Damien Adkins as leasing agents.
Myerscough said the A-grade building would offer a “best in class, progressive workplace,” with flexible and creative spaces; premium lifestyle and end-of-trip facilities; and highly sought after sustainability credentials.
“There has never been a building like this in Melbourne, it is a next generation workplace located in one of the city’s most vibrant, diverse and growing fringe office precincts.
“Collingwood is expected to become the next Cremorne thanks to its easy access to the CBD and appeal to quality staff in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.”
Myerscough said the building would offer flexible and creative spaces that foster collaboration, adapt to suit changing requirements and increase productivity of on-site staff.
Melbourne’s fringe office markets of Cremorne and Richmond have grown substantially in recent years, with a recent spate of transactional and leasing activity bringing more new tenants and paving the way for further commercial development in the area.
Icon Developments shrugged off the threat of oversupply across Melbourne’s city fringe office market earlier this year with commitments to projects in both Cremorne and Collingwood.
Inner city markets will need to compete with the greater number of spaces opening up in the CBD, as well as more advantageous conditions for tenants. The Property Council estimates 350,000 sqm of office space was added to Melbourne’s CBD market over 2020, and an additional 390,000 sqm will enter the marker over the next three years. Over the same period, some 270,000 sqm is anticipated to enter the city fringe market, 130,000 sqm of which CBRE expects to come online this year.
Sales of buildings under construction demonstrated the popularity of Collingwood’s fledgling office market heading into the pandemic, with RF CorVal paying $75.5 million for the 11 storey tower 71-93 Gipps Sreet on behalf of institutional investors with 40% of the property leased to co-working group Spaces, and Pace Development offloaded the under-construction 11 level tower at 51 Langridge St for $31.6 million, with just over half of the tower pre-committed.
Impact Investment Group’s $120 million, 13-storey Northumberland tower is nearing completion after Probuild took over the project’s construction from the collapsed Grocon.
