Beulah has revealed construction giant Multiplex will break ground on its ambitious Sth Bnk project early next year to build the dual-tower Melbourne landmark.
The ink is still drying on the construction contract, for an undisclosed sum, to build the tallest skyscraper in the southern hemisphere.
It will be no small feat, two twisting towers measuring 275m and 365m high with the tallest vertical garden in the world between them.
The announcement follows years of anticipation on who would be tasked with the project, furthering the Brookfield-backed builder’s portfolio.
Sth Bnk by Beulah is described as a “hyper-mixed-use” project comprising a retail precinct, wellness precinct, childcare centre, Four Seasons Hotel, cultural centre, offices, parks and residential offerings.
The developer chalked up $600 million in sales in the four months following the project’s launch last year, which included apartments that transacted at record-breaking prices of up to $38 million.
Multiplex was also working on the city-shaping Queen’s Wharf project in Brisbane where the sky deck, atop The Grand Star hotel, just topped out.
A spokesperson for the construction giant told The Urban Developer the projects would have different management and site teams, with enough capacity for both programs to run simultaneously.
Early works were expected to start on the Melbourne project in late 2023 to early 2024 and would take about five years to complete.
Beulah managing director Jiaheng Chan said this would be the second time they had worked with Multiplex.
“Multiplex is responsible for delivering some of Australia’s most significant and iconic projects, many of which push the boundaries in terms of engineering and design,” Chan said.
“Following an extensive review period, we believe them to be the most experienced to be our builder partner for such an iconic project.”
“Over 50 per cent of Multiplex’s Melbourne portfolio is built for repeat clients, with this signalling the second time we have worked with them, following the successful delivery of our award-winning Paragon project in 2021.”
Multiplex regional managing director Ross Snowball said that as with any project there would be technical challenges but they had a lot of experience.
“We’re thrilled to be named the builder partner for this unrivalled skyscraper, which is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated projects to be undertaken in Melbourne’s CBD,” Snowball said.
“Having recently delivered the southern hemisphere’s tallest residential tower at Australia 108, we look forward to working with Beulah to bring their vision for Australia’s tallest tower to life.”
Given the green light by the Victorian government in April 2020 as the onset of Covid gripped the country, a post-pandemic sales rush has led construction of the $2.7 billion Sth Bnk by Beulah project on the city fringe to be brought forward.
The tallest of the two Sth Bnk towers will reach 365m—surpassing the Gold Coast’s Q1 supertower (322.5m) as the nation’s tallest building—while the second 63-storey tower will rise to 275 metres.
