This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
GOODMAN has kicked off construction on a ground-breaking mass timber unit development at Melbourne’s Moorabbin Airport, marking the ASX-listed industrial giant’s first venture in the Asia Pacific into mass timber construction.
The project will be using 7,019 pieces – or 631 tonnes – of timber, with all waste product from the off-site timber manufacturing to be recycled.
The warehouse will have a timber colonnade, showrooms and office spaces at the front, and functional warehousing behind the scenes. Four units that will range from 3,500 to 4,300 sqm are designed to be combined, offering flexibility for larger customers such as bulky goods retailers, industrial users, and logistics operators.
Goodman said the timber is sourced from a supplier which has undergone certification to demonstrate commitment to sustainable forest management, and that it does not contribute to forest loss.
Mass timber construction is expected to reduce the property’s embodied carbon by approximately 24% compared to conventional steel developments. The property will also have 400 kilowatts of rooftop solar, eight electric vehicle charging stations and smart metering to monitor and manage energy consumption.
The development’s aiming to achieve a 5-star Green Star Buildings rating.
“In delivering essential infrastructure for the digital economy, one of our priorities is to trial products and construction methods that are low- carbon, resilient, and provide positive outcomes for our customers who are looking to achieve their own sustainability objectives,” said Jason Little, CEO Australia, Goodman Group, who described the development as a “pilot project”.
Paul Ferguson, CEO, Moorabbin Airport said, “We’re actively working to reduce our environmental footprint as set out in the Moorabbin Airport Master Plan”.
“We’ve installed 1,700 kilowats of solar, rainwater tanks for water capture and recycling, and maintain 2,000 drought-tolerant trees since 2015. The mass timber units demonstrate our commitment to building the long-term value and resilience of Moorabbin Airport as well as a stable platform for further growth.”
The Moorabbin Airport 2021 Master Plan was approved in September last year by federal Minister for Infrastructure Catherine King, and maps out growth for the 294-hectare precinct for both aviation and non-aviation uses.
Direct and indirect jobs at the precinct are forecast to grow from 16,500 to 23,100 by 2029.
Construction of the Goodman project is expected to reach completion in November and will generate 175 construction jobs.
Australia is slowly seeing more major construction projects utilising timber as landlords and developers respond to tenants broadly seeking to move to new homes with higher green credentials.
Headlining those is tech monolith Atlassian’s $1.54 billion under-construction headquarters in Sydney’s Tech Central, which will be the world’s tallest timber hybrid building.
An EY Net Zero Centre, showed 92% of corporate tenants are already more likely to stay in a commercial office with strong green credentials.
Back in Melbourne, global real estate manager Hines is building a 15-storey heavy timber building in Collingwood, which it says will reduce carbon emissions development by 34%. The project won a $70 million investment from the federal government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). The CEFC has gone on to launch a $300 million program to encourage mass timber construction in commercial developments such as offices, retail, industrial, healthcare and education.