This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
BILLIONAIRE Kerry Stokes’ Seven Network has confirmed it will move its Melbourne office and studio to Lendlease’s multi-billion dollar Melbourne Quarter precinct from early 2025, officially vacating its long-term Docklands home that is slated for a major overhaul.
The network will be moving into 4,500 sqm across levels three and four of Melbourne Quarter Tower, the precinct’s flagship commercial building that is currently under construction.
Located on Collins Street and opposite Southern Cross Station, Melbourne Quarter Tower will span 34 levels and is scheduled for completion by the middle of this year. It will be the final commercial building delivered in the Melbourne Quarter precinct.
“Docklands has been a fantastic home for Seven Melbourne for more than two decades, but the time is right to move to a new, more advanced facility, one specifically designed for our digital future,” said James Warbuton, managing director and CEO of Seven West Media.
“Melbourne is a critically important market for Seven and the home of some of our most valued partners, including the AFL and Cricket Australia. Our new operation in Melbourne Quarter Tower reflects the priority we place on Melbourne and will be a fantastic workspace for our people.”
Seven’s long-term home at 160 Harbour Esplanade, next to Marvel Stadium, is owned by the state government’s Development Victoria and is part of a precinct overhaul around the stadium it is planning with the AFL, which owns Marvel Stadium outright and where it is has been undertaking its own redevelopment.
Development Victoria acquired the leasehold to 160 Harbour Esplanade in 2018 from NRMA for $100 million.
Lendlease’s 70,000 sqm Melbourne Quarter Tower attracted a major pre-commitment from Medibank in 2021, with the major health insurer signing a 10-year lease for 17,500 sqm of space that will be home to over 2,500 of its staff from October this year.
Lendlease pre-sold the complex in 2021 for $1.2 billion to South Korea’s National Pension Service.
The broader Melbourne Quarter precinct will have 152,000 sqm of commercial space on completion, including 5,000 sqm of retail space.
Melbourne CBD’s office vacancy lifted from 15.9% to 16.4% over the six months to January, according to the latest data from the Property Council of Australia, largely on the back of new buildings opening at 500 Bourke Street and 300 Flinders Street, and 57,000 sqm of sublease space becoming available in Docklands – at 800 Bourke Street and 833 Collins Street.
Elsewhere at Melbourne Quarter, Lendlease has entered into a partnership with Japan’s biggest homebuilder, Daiwa House, to develop a $650 million built-to-rent tower that will rise 45 levels and be the final component of the precinct.
