This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE Commonwealth Bank is relocating its Melbourne headquarters to Walker Corporation's $1.5 billion Collins Square project at Docklands, joining the ANZ Bank and National Australia Bank in the precinct.
The CBA’s decision means Westpac is the only one of the Big Four banks to have its headquarters outside of the Docklands precinct, at 150 Collins St.
The CBA has signed a 10-year lease to occupy approximately 9,000 sqm at 1 Collins Square, joining Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), who has already leased 25,000 sqm.
The building is one of the five towers at the $1.5 billion Collins Square project — Australia’s largest commercial development, providing over 185,000 sqm of space.
Covering a total of 40,000 sqm, 1 Collins Square is scheduled for completion in midâ€2013 and will house MMC’s 1,800 staff over 10 levels covering 25,000 sqm.
The CBA is expected to move about 800 people from its home at 385 Bourke St, owned by the Commonwealth Property Office Fund, where it had renewed its lease in April 2008 following a 10-month search. At the time the CBA considered moving to Cbus Property’s $230 million CBW development at 550 Bourke St and Walker Corporation’s Collins Square.
However the CBA decided to prolong its stay at 385 Bourke St with a break clause in 2012. The move will put 18,194 sqm of backfill office space in the Melbourne CBD office market.
“Our vision for Collins Square is to create a new commercial heart of Melbourne’s CBD and we are in advanced discussions with a range of other tenants to lift the current tenancy levels to more than 100,000 sqm,” Walker Corporation chairman Lang Walker said.
The CBA and MMC also join Pearson Australia and the Australian Taxation Office in the development, with the ATO recently moving into its 38,000 sqm of office space.
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