Solid Foundations Poured for Brisbane Office Tower Deal

Hutchinson’s has broken ground on Brisbane’s newest commercial tower, at 205 North Quay, underpinning the renewal of the North Quarter.

But agents remain tight-lipped on the outcome of an expressions of interest campaign for a 50 per cent stake in the $600-million tower that closed in December last year. 

Nielson Properties is selling its 50 per cent stake in the office tower but the property developer said there was no news on the sales process. 

JLL Queensland managing director Paul Noonan also declined to comment on the sale of the Nielson Properties stake in the development, reportedly worth about $350 million.

The 31-storey, A-grade office building has a pre-lease commitment of 10 years with Services Australia for the entire riverfront building. 

Hutchinsons has been on-site undertaking bulk excavation works for the basement of the building.

Hassell, REX and Richards and Spence consortium won the design competition for the tower with a “holistically healthy” building. 

▲ The design of the 31-storey office building focuses on health and wellbeing with open air terraces on each level, a 25m lap pool and childcare facilities.

Cbus Property chief executive Adrian Pozzo said the building would be a trailblazer for healthy building design.

“At 205 North Quay, we have an opportunity to create a building and a set of spaces that are uniquely positioned to blaze a trail for healthy buildings and their potential,” Pozzo said.

“This is a truly unique workplace proposition, one that will set a new benchmark for commercial tower models long into the future.”

The building design includes a whole-floor wellness facility, on-site childcare, a 25m lap pool, a public realm auditorium and rooftop meeting spaces for up to 4000 federal public servants slated to work in the building. 
 
In good news for Brisbane’s office sector, occupancy levels are rebounding as more people return to the workplace. 
 
Property Council of Australia data shows office occupancy has surged from a low of 13 per cent in January to 41 per cent in February, which Queensland executive director Jen Williams said was a “significant boost”.
 
“This is a significant improvement, but still behind the 60-70 per cent of pre-Covid occupancy seen for much of the previous year,” Williams said.
 
“With the peak of the pandemic passing and a range of positive announcements from both the Brisbane City Council and the Queensland government, the city was tracking well to reach pre-Omicron levels of activity.
 
“Unfortunately, along with broader impacts on the community and the economy, [recent] extreme weather events also impacted the city’s activity levels as people remained in their local communities.
 
“With the CBD clean-up near completion and mask mandates being lifted, I am confident office occupancy levels will quickly climb again.
 
“Across March, we look forward to seeing office occupancy rates lift again as the resilience of Queenslanders comes to the fore, and Brisbanites seek to reconnect and support their city centre community.”