Developers File Plans for City Fringe Office Projects

Developers are moving quickly to take advantage of Brisbane’s burgeoning commercial sector, lodging plans for office projects ahead of a rapid rebound in economic growth and office market activity as the pandemic abates.

Two separate development applications have been lodged in quick succession for Brisbane’s fringe office suburb, Fortitude Valley.

At the former Dooleys Hotel site, 388 Brunswick Street, Tutt Capital has lodged plans with the Brisbane City Council for a $150-million commercial building.

The 14-storey development, designed by Blight Rayner, supersedes a 29-storey residential tower application lodged in May this year.

The 11,200sq m project, positioned towards the more “active” tenant, will include end-of-trip facilities with 84 bike racks, 112 lockers and six showers in each end-of-trip bathroom. It will also have 125 car parking spaces.

The project features sky terrace balconies on levels three, four, five and 13 while a retail tenancy is planned on the ground floor and a contemporary LED advertisement board will wrap around the building’s podium.

The “art media wall” installation will be on the corner of Brunswick and McLachlan streets, two of the entertainment precinct’s arterial roads.

At 63-67 McLachlan Street, PCREW has lodged plans for a 12-storey office building above two basement car park levels.

The 800sq m site is currently occupied by a mix of single- and two-storey commercial buildings.

The Cottee Parker-designed project will include ground level food and beverage tenancy off the commercial office lobby, a wellness centre and a rooftop restaurant.

The proposed development will match varied constructed or approved buildings along McLachlan Street of 12, 16 and 27 storeys.

The tower’s form will “undulate like the localities’ rocky escarpments” with a series of recesses along the street frontage.

The “green” building will be overlaid with a veil of subtropical landscaping.

It will strive for zero operational and embodied carbon target with the total amount of energy used by the building to be offset by renewable energy creation both on and off site.

The office building, if realised, will sit next to Mosaic Property and Pellegrino Group’s recently completed building at 89 McLachlan Street—a development that similarly features a purpose-built sky terraces for informal breakout spaces and outdoor meetings.

The projects plan to come online as Brisbane positions itself as the country’s hottest CBD office markets while Australia’s two largest office markets, Sydney and Melbourne, continue to feel the hangover of Covid-19.

Developers have remained confident about the demand for new A-grade offices despite the city recording a vacancy rate of 15.8 per cent during the September quarter.

Major Brisbane sales this year included 307 Queen Street for $214 million and the acquisition by Cromwell Property Group of 545 Queen Street for $117.5 million, both in early May.

They followed strong results for the office towers at 10 Eagle Street, which were picked up by Marquette Properties for $285 million, and 310 Ann Street, bought by Ashe Morgan for $210 million.

Other 2021 sales include 299 Adelaide Street for $85 million, 262 Adelaide Street for $19 million and 545 Queen Street for $117.5 million.