Shayher Pursues Adaptive Reuse on Brisbane CBD Fringe

An eight-storey office block would be converted to short-term accommodation in Brisbane’s inner west under plans to boost the city’s supply.

Shayher Group has filed plans for the adaptive reuse of the office block at Milton, about 3km west of the River City CBD.

Part of the Milton Green precinct, the office block on a 3939sq m site at 30 Little Cribb Street would be retained and converted with internal refurbishments.

The Urban Developer understands architects Arkhefield had been working with the developer on an office refurbishment plan. 

The plans now are for 126 apartments, comprising a mix of 98 one-bedroom apartments and 28 two-bedroom apartments, and some minor ground-plane changes, with provisions for 173 carparks. 

According to the Urbis town planning report, the adaptive reuse would not alter any of the key development parameters including gross floor area, built form, bulk and scale, setbacks and the building envelope. 

“The development will retain the existing built form that was constructed as part of the ‘Milton Green Office Row’,” the report said. 

“The repurpose of the existing tower responds to market demand for increased short-term accommodation in Brisbane’s CBD and, as such, the development proposal leverages the significant growth opportunities for Brisbane’s CBD to provide a connected and liveable inner-city realm.

“[It] is well positioned and responds to market drivers that necessitate inner-city accommodation now and into the future being well connected, and within proximity to the inner city.”

The planning report said the redevelopment of the office block would “revistalise the site” and meet the demand for inner-city accommodation, while also reflecting the decrease in demand for inner-city office space. 

▲ Renders of the block at 30 Little Cribb Street earmarked for an adaptive reuse project that would convert office space to short-term accommodation.

The ground floor of the project would be converted into communal open space and dedicated co-working spaces. 

The Ubis planning report said the site’s proximity to major lifestyle destinations such as Suncorp stadium, and public transport connections to the CBD reinforced its suitability for a co-located residential use within inner-city Milton. 

The Property Council of Australia Queensland division this year reported that Brisbane’s office vacancy rates had hit a 10-year low, down to 9.5 per cent. 

But the growing gap between the different grades of office assets was leading to the renewal or repurposing of older B-grade or C-grade office blocks. 

▲ A render of the two-tower residential development behind the walls of Pentridge Prison by Shayher Group.

MSCI head of real estate research for the Pacific region Benjamin Martin-Henry told The Urban Developer that changing work patterns were affecting the value of different office typologies. 

“Workers aren’t going to be rushing back to C or D-grade offices,” Martin-Henry said.

“They want to go back to the likes of 50 Bridge Street and the Salesforce tower in Sydney—it is the quality of the office that will entice them to come back.”

This is leading to an office trifurcation, which is making it harder to lease older B-grade assets, and reinforcing the flight to premium office buildings. 

Shayher Group recently won approval for a two-tower residential scheme for the Pentridge Prison site in Victoria. 

The Brisbane-based developer put forward the project for a part of the site of the 170-year-old prison at Coburg, about 9km north of the Melbourne CBD.

The project is to rise between the 6m-high bluestone walls on Champ Street and the historic A Division Cell Block.