[+] Winten at Crest Of Wellness Wave

The battle to recruit talent and to engage employees prompted Winten Property Group to develop a central wellness hub at its Sydney commercial development long before Coronavirus was a household name.

Winten development director Stuart Vaughan said it was recognition that the “value proposition of work space has changed”.

And it has proven an insightful decision after the pandemic and slow trickle of employees returning to the office.

Winten has baked in a holistic wellness amenity called Nest at the core of 1 Denison, North Sydney’s biggest Premium-grade commercial tower. 

The wellness centre was designed to adopt a “human-centric approach” to help employees disconnect from their busy schedules and be inspired to pursue mindfulness and wellness.

Vaughan said millennials were now the dominant generation in the workplace and Winten was focused on reframing “the great resignation” to “the great realignment”.

“[This] is where employees are moving to organisations that better reflect their own principles and ethics,” Vaughan said.

“The need for these value-add amenities that deliver wellbeing, sustainable and equitable outcomes is needed more than ever. 

“As we now focus on return to office, we will see employee-centric organisations, committed to engaging employees and incentivising return to work as opposed to policing it.”

▲ The Premium-grade 37-storey office tower will accommodate up to 6000 employees when it is fully occupied.

Sydney CBD office vacancies increased from 5.6 per cent to 8.6 per cent over the six months to January 2021. The CBD received almost 110,00sq m of new supply and negative net absorption of -54,671sq m, bumping the vacancy rate up to its highest level in seven years.

But outside the CBD, the metropolitan markets are also thriving, according to Property Council NSW executive director Jane Fitzgerald. Crows Nest, Wollongong and Parramatta recorded strong positive demand.

“Sydney has close to 280,000sq m of office space coming online over the next two years, so it is an ideal time to secure prime office space for considered future tenants,” Fitzgerald said.

“We support the statements by the premier and treasurer of NSW highlighting that the CBDs are the engine room of the NSW economy and that continued support from employers to encourage people back to the cities is more important now than ever.”

Winten recently launched a campaign to incenvitise returning employees, which doubled attendance in March from 17 per cent to 35 per cent. 

Vaughan said a successful and sustained return to office hinged on “above and beyond value opportunities which compensate for the down-time of commutes”.

“From 12 months of data, we have seen the two to three day week trend, with employees choosing to come to work on a day that provides special services, events or collaboration workshops,” he said.
 
“My prediction is that a greater breadth of industries will continue to offer flexible working, normalising what was traditionally a tech approach … our data demonstrates that the Tuesday to Thursday in-office week has been consistent between lockdowns in New South Wales.”

▲ 1 Denison is one of the developments leading the way for design aimed to encourage workers back to the office.

Vaughan said it was early days and still difficult to know what was on the horizon for office assets, but he said institutional investors were taking a long-term view on the rebounding asset class.
 
Spaces, a co-working business, recently signed a 12-year lease for two levels across the 37-storey tower, which is now 95 per cent leased. When fully occupied the building will accommodate up to 6000 employees.
 
Vaughan said 1 Denison was a “tech heavyweight asset” with organisations including Microsoft, SAP, Datacom, Qualtrics and Red Hat signing up to the innovative tech-enabled building. 

The Nest wellness centre is on Level 23 of the tower includes free wellbeing classes including reformer pilates, yoga and bootcamp, as well as gap-free massage and chiropractor services as a “welcome back investment”.

“The decision to include Nest was a very bold decision that has paid significant dividends by attracting high-profile national and global companies that firmly place employee wellbeing at the top of their workplace agenda,” Vaughan said. 

SAP head of success factors Aaron Green said The Nest had been a “key driver” in the return to work.

“SAP has embraced flex work, with many selecting their ‘office days’ around the events and exercise classes in Nest,” Green said.

“Amenities such as Nest and tools like the 1 Denison mobile app help create a culture and community around wellbeing that have a real impact on productivity in the workplace and foster connectivity and collaboration.”

You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.