This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
DEVELOPER Time & Place, builder Hickory and lender Qualitas are moving ahead with a $230 million office campus in Sydney’s inner south, without signing a single tenant.
Demolition and preliminary works have started on the 8,089 sqm Alexandria site at 23-27 Bourke Road and 41-43 Bowden Street, bought by Time & Place and Hickory last year for $52.5 million, and approval has been given for 16,000 sqm of offices and 1,500 sqm of ground floor retail.
Office floor plates will span 4,500 sqm with a central atrium.
John Wardle Architects’ scheme was selected via a design competition run by City of Sydney and includes a wellness centre, end-of-trip facilities, co-working spaces and shared meeting room.
“Expanding into Alexandria has long been on our radar, and this site presented exactly the opportunity we were looking for; room for expansive floorplates that encouraged an open-plan and co-working environment, all anchored by a sophisticated, thriving commercial precinct,” Time & Place NSW director Evan Papadopoulos said.
“The way people work fundamentally changed during the pandemic, and we’re seeing incredible demand for commercial space in the city fringe. The fantastic location of the site, combined with a design we’re really proud of, has given us the confidence to begin work without tenants in place.”
The development is close to Alexandria’s ongoing Green Square urban renewal project that has turned mostly old warehousing into a mixed-use precinct with 44,000 residents.
Mark Fischer, global head of real estate and co-founder of Qualitas said, “In the office sector, we have conviction that occupiers want the kind of modern, flexible office spaces that only exist in a limited way in current office stock.”
Cheaper rents are also a factor. Ampol moved its headquarters out of the CBD into Alexandria to the next-door building at 29-33 Bourke Road in move that it estimated would save shareholders $50 million over 10 years.
The site was acquired with an approved stage 1 DA that had the condition that a portion of the land would be returned to Council at the conclusion of construction. A widened footpath around the site’s perimeter will create laneway at the rear to allow for future retail activation, an end of trip facility and wellness amenity including a steam room, sauna, ice plunge bath and juice bar.
The project will launch this quarter, with Colliers appointed to run the leasing campaign.
Time & Place has just taken ownership of Melbourne CBD’s Hotel Lindrum in a $50 million deal, with the developer weighing up its options for the iconic east end site.
