Speculative office play pays off at Adelaide's 70 Franklin Street

Despite challenging conditions, a decision to speculatively build a 19,000 square meter office building in Adelaide’s CBD is paying dividends for local developer The Kyren Group.

Top tier corporates PWC, Southern Cross Austereo and Marsh Mercer have all committed to the Cheesman Architects-designed building, located at 70 Franklin Street, Adelaide. 

Nicholas Shinnick, Colliers International National Director – Office Leasing, who negotiated the deals, said corporate tenants were attracted to the building by its green credentials and availability of high rise floors.

“The total area of the leasing transaction amounted to approximately 4500sq m and means the building is now more than 40 per cent leased,” Mr Shinnick said.

“The quality of the tenants committing is testament to the quality of the building."

Southern Cross Austereo has taken up 1,300 square meters on Level 13 and Marsh Mercer 1,136 square meters on Level 6. PWC has leased approximately 1,950 square meters over Levels 11 and 12 and has secured both signage and naming rights to the building.

In a challenging year for the Adelaide CBD office leasing market, Mr Shinnick said all three transactions were significant in the context of the marketplace.

70 Franklin Street has been designed to achieve Green Building Council of Australia 5-Star rating and a modelled NABERS 5-Star rating.

Kyren Group Managing Director, Theo Samaras said energy efficient green buildings translated to greater rental values, higher occupancy rates, and, ultimately, higher asset prices.

“Investing in 5 Star Green Star buildings is a way to stand out in the marketplace and to attract premium tenants,” Mr Samaras said.

“In the future, a 5-star build is likely to be the normal benchmark. With the right project team, these developments can deliver on the bottom-line.

70 Franklin Street is located near Victoria Square law courts precinct and is a short distance from the GPO, Central Market, Chinatown and the Grote and Gouger Street restaurant precincts.