Ericsson seeks $50m. new home
Ted McDonnell
June 08, 2005

Communications giant Ericsson is seeking a $50 million new home within Melbourne’s burgeoning central business district.

Ericsson presently has 350 staff in its northern suburbs bunker at Broadmeadows and another 350 staff spread across 6000 sqm at its present headquarters at Melbourne Central.

Ericsson’s lease over its four floors at GPT’s Melbourne Central ends in July 2007 and at the same time it intends curtailing its stay in Broadmeadows.

According to several major agents, Ericsson favours a move to either Melbourne’s CBD or join a growing number of major companies in campus office style accommodation at Docklands.

In total, Ericsson is seeking around 12,000 sqm with agents informing propertyreview.com.au that its preference is for a stand alone naming rights office complex.

At rent of around $340 per sqm plus outgoings the cost of a new office building in either the CBD or Docklands would cost around $50 million.

There is currently only one development site within Melbourne’s CBD that would be suitable, ASD’s bomb site, on the corner of William and Bourke Streets. ASD could develop an office tower of around 50-60,000 sqm or around five tenants with the same requirements as Ericsson.

The other option high on Ericsson’s list of preferred locations is Melbourne’s Docklands, which has a number of suitable sites within Lend Lease’s Victoria Harbour development.

Agents believe Victoria Harbour is the current favourite, however, they believe Ericsson will not want to “dilly dally” as the communications group’s window of opportunity is very small.

“If they want their own purpose built development, which makes sense, they need to make a decision fairly quickly as it will take around two years to develop a building no matter what the location.”

It is expected Ericsson will make a decision on its new Melbourne headquarters within the few months.

Of the existing or planned office towers around Melbourne’s CBD are 50 Lonsdale Street; 8 Exhibition Street; and 121 Exhibition Street. All could meet Ericsson’s needs.

Another major tenant seeking a new headquarters is ANZ. It is believed ANZ are favouring a campus style office development in Docklands similar to the Lend Lease development at Victoria Harbour.

http://www.propertyreview.com.au/archives/2005/08062005/headline/08062005001.html

go the campus style! lol
grollo, whats your feeling, do you think they will try to develope a CBD highrise or go the low-rise Docklands way?

I hope they move into the proposed short tower at Southern Cross, Exhibition St. At least then, they can have their own new building in the CBD.

I think Docklands has an unfair advantage over the CBD at the moment so anybody looking for new office space would be crazy to look anywhere else.

There is currently only one development site within Melbourne’s CBD that would be suitable, ASD’s bomb site, on the corner of William and Bourke Streets. ASD could develop an office tower of around 50-60,000 sqm or around five tenants with the same requirements as Ericsson.

60000sqm, thats big biscuits, 180m plus? i hope the current 110m proposal is dead and buried

anyways if they move out mid 2007 their only option is a building like HWT or weener office development that can start late this year and be completed in time. so no need to get excited. when IAG decide on a new 35000sqm home, then it'll get interesting

Good point re Southern Cross second tower. The changes to PCA ratings should be good - rents would not be (as) artificially inflated. I agree with Grollo, suburban and Docklands campus style developments are screwing up the CBD. I think that Docklands is a serious miscalculation - all that low rise so close to the city yet spread apart and divided by a waterway does not make any sense. Wasted opportunities. It would also be very difficult to replicate the CBD "feel" of wall to wall developments, contiguous podiums/shopfronts. The Docklands will end up like Asian city centres - horrible, desolate, nice viewing from a distance, but unwelcoming up close.

Basically it seems many people believe the Docklands will become a glorified suburban office park...and that we wont be seeing many if any new towers in the CBD in the next construction cycle seeing as the majority of comany HQ's are moving into 5 level boxes near the water.

I thought Docklands was going to house majority residential and roughly 25% office space, creating a livley urban village of professionals, families, uni students etc...am I wrong?

I think there is a bit of overreaction going on here. I mean there are plenty of possible companies that would look at building substantial campus developements at the docklands, but look at it now. There are, what, 15?!(5 at new quay, 2 watergate, vic point, dock 5, village docklands, yarra's edge towers) apartment buildings already built or being built there at the moment! And still plenty more in the works. No matter what happens now, there is always going to be a substantial resident population at the docklands to keep it interesting and alive 24/7 so to speak.

Opposed to that there are only what 4 or 5 office buildings built or UC....

Actually the development of office space in Docklands has been way behind schedule until now. The concept for Docklands was that it was supposed to attract new high tech companies to Melbourne or at least get existing Melbourne companies to relocate from the suburbs and also to provide space for start up companies... It was a very late 90's concept which went down the tubes with the tech wreck.

So now instead of attratcing new high tech companies and industries Docklands is just providing office space for companies relocating from the CBD.

Where do you think that the demand for new office development within the CBD will come from in the next construction cycle if the majority of companies within the CBD are looking at relocating to the Docklands?? Will there be enough demand to warrant lets say 5-10 new towers in the next 10 years?

Law firms, Consultancy firms, consular services, public sector, maybe research institutes and of course hotel & residential uses.

Docklands & the campus phenomenon is relatively limited to Financial and some research / Technology-centric uses. All the space that has been left since companies have moved out into newer buildings (BHP leaving Bourke Place, reno of 15W) have been filled with law firms, consultancy firms & the likes.

Unless a whole plethora of businesses get 'touchy-feely' it would be absurd to assume there'll be no construction in the CBD over the next ten years.

Heady office levels to continue says BIS Shrapnel
Ted McDonnell
June 29, 2005
http://www.propertyreview.com.au/archives/2005/29062005/headline/29062005001.html

Despite predictions Melbourne 's office leasing boom will abate, leading forecaster yesterday predicted the heady times will continue throughout 2005.

In its latest expectations for the Melbourne CBD and near city commercial property markets in its sister studies: “ Melbourne Commercial Property Prospects and Melbourne's Near City and Suburban Office Market ” the reports concludes that the heady levels of take-up in Melbourne office space will continue into 2005, despite market predictions.

BIS Shrapnel said that many observers were surprised that net absorption was strong in Melbourne in 2004.

The CBD recorded net absorption of just over 50,000sqm — make that 150,000sqm if the Docklands precinct is included, the forecaster yesterday trumpeted.

The significance of this take-up, according to BIS Shrapnel, is its eclipsing of the levels reached in the heady days of the late 1980s boom.

“Given that this growth occurred at a time of widespread pessimism about the future of the Melbourne office market, with fairly high levels of leasing incentives introduced to sign up tenants ahead of a weaker expected market to come, and rents falling, it is no wonder it caught many people off guard,” Senior Project Manager and study author, Maria Lee said yesterday.

“As the Melbourne office market performed contrary to expectations, recent demand has been dismissed as ‘a flash in the pan'. The general consensus explaining recent activity is that tenants brought forward leasing commitments because of the availability of new space at low rents.”

Lee explains that this undoubtedly happened — to an extent. However, Ms Lee believes that the real key to this story is underlying demand for office space. Current levels of underlying demand are strong, with growing numbers of stand-alone office workforce (SAOWF) supporting the need for additional space.

“Underlying demand was even stronger than net absorption last year, according to BIS Shrapnel. It reached over 600,000sqm in the metropolitan area in the year to May 2004,” she said.

“Admittedly, this was partially a bounce-back from the negative result the previous year,” Lee explains. “Nonetheless, it continued strongly positive, at close to +200,000sqm, in the 12 months ending May 2005.”

BIS Shrapnel believes the outlook for Melbourne 's CBD and near city office market is strong.

The company forecasts underlying demand to remain robust, supported by growth in those business sectors critical to office floorspace demand.

Property and business services, in particular, will be strong over the next few years, according to BIS Shrapnel.

“The shortage of skilled labour will increasingly lead to outsourcing rather than companies trying to take on tasks in house” Lee adds.

Lee expects underlying demand to soon be running at around 400,000 sqm.

According to BIS Shrapnel, both the finance & insurance and government administration are enjoying robust employment levels at present.

“These two sectors account for some 40% of CBD office occupation. Property & Business Services makes up close to a third of office floorspace and has not shown the same strength over the last year, but is treading water.”

Both Melbourne Commercial Property Prospects and Melbourne's Near City and Suburban Office Market forecast strong net absorption again in 2005.

In fact, BIS Shrapnel predicts growth to be even stronger in 2005 than the phenomenal rate of take-up in 2004.

“The company predicts calendar 2005 net absorption will reach around 270,000sqm at the metropolitan level. Incidentally, this is still about 100,000sqm below previous peak levels of the late 1980s when St Kilda Road, Southbank and the residual markets were all also firing on all cylinders,” Lee said.

For the CBD, BIS Shrapnel forecasts show just over 100,000sqm of net absorption, and not much more if Docklands is included, as there is little space due for completion there this year and no current vacancies to be taken up.

“So even if some of last year's net absorption was brought forward from the future, there's enough growth in underlying demand in the Melbourne CBD and near-city office markets to make further strong net absorption likely. What's more, many of those companies that made commitments to buildings still in the pipeline may find that, by the time they move in, their workforce has expanded beyond their expectations and they are somewhat tight for space.”

:guns1:

another report in the AFR had the Victorian financial employment growth up by 15,000 with the next closest of 8000 in NSW.

15,000 workers in a nice 200m office tower, no? :lol:

Bring on the next round of office towers...

No stopping Melbourne office party
By Cameron Houston
June 29, 2005
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/no-stopping-melbourne-office-party/2005/06/28/1119724631162.html

The office market is strengthened by underlying demand and driven by employment growth.

The CBD and Docklands office market recorded net absorption of more than 150,000 square metres in 2004 and the flurry of leasing activity is expected to continue this year, according to property analyst BIS Shrapnel.

Melbourne's net absorption rate eclipsed levels reached during the 1980s boom and has confounded several Sydney-based analysts, who have been forced to reconsider the belief that Melbourne's market simply mirrored trends in the harbour city. :-)

While some analysts attributed the leasing activity to the availability of new office space and low rents, BIS Shrapnel senior project manager Maria Lee said strong underlying demand was the major contributing factor.

"Even if some of last year's net absorption was due to deals done before lease expiry, there's enough growth in underlying demand in the Melbourne CBD and inner-city office markets to make further net absorption likely.

"What's more, many of those companies that made commitments to buildings still in the pipeline, may find that by the time they move in, their workforce has expanded beyond their expectations and they are somewhat tight for space," Ms Lee said.
AdvertisementAdvertisement

The Victorian public service and the finance and insurance sectors had all recorded strong employment growth and accounted for almost 40 per cent of CBD office space, she said.

Property and business services currently occupied about a third of CBD office space, but had not recorded the same growth, according to Ms Lee.

The two BIS Shrapnel reports - Melbourne Commercial Property Prospects and Melbourne's Near City and Suburban Office Market - both predict even stronger rates of net absorption over 2005.

They expect net absorption in the CBD of 100,000 sq m this year, despite the fact that the Docklands market has no current vacancies and few projects are due for completion.

Colliers International national leasing director, Simon Hunt, said there was stronger demand for Melbourne office space than any other Australian capital city.

He said the strength of demand was underpinned by a positive economic outlook and the growth of white-collar businesses such as accounting, legal and recruitment firms.

sweet sweet news...it will be so exciting to see efforts underway to build a new 250m+ anytime soon....yipee!!!!

Millions arriving - literally

More than one million people are expected to visit the City of Melbourne each day by 2014 research shows.

The City Users Estimates and Forecasts Model tracks:
• who uses the city;
• where they come from;
• how they got here; and
• what they do when they arrive.

The survey reports the number of people using the city each day has grown by more than 150,000 between 1998 – 2004 and that numbers are expected to grow by more than 377,000 people between now and 2015.

Melbourne's most popular weekday sightseeing venues are Federation Square, the National Galley of Victoria and Theatre Precinct, Docklands and, Parliament House. On weekends sightseers go to Southbank, the Casino, Federation Square and the Queen Victoria Market.

Other key findings:
• The number of students coming to the city has more than doubled from 28,000 in 1998 to 69,230 in 2004 and is expected to reach 121,619 by 2015. Currently around 40 per cent of city users are aged in their 20s.
• International, interstate and regional Victorian visitor numbers are heavily influenced by entertainment and sporting events.
• The Commonwealth Games are expected to bring more than 120,000 visitors to Melbourne for the month-long games period.

The study relies on available data to produce statistics for 1998 -2004 and then provides forecasts for 2005 – 2015.

http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=91&pa=866&pg=2297

^ time to start planning for the Doncaster - St.Kilda cross rail! :)

AFR
Optus wins rent cut to stay put
Tina Perinotto
7 July 2005

In two of Melbourne's most closely watched leasing deals, Optus and UBS were yesterday believed to be ready to sign new leases in the CBD.

Optus, which has been looking for 25,000 square metres for some time, was believed to have chosen to stay at its premises at 367 Collins Street, dashing the hopes of several other property owners who had put options forward.

Market sources said yesterday that the deal was a coup for Optus, which negotiated a substantial rent cut by staying put.

It is understood to be paying rent in the high-$300s a square metre now. The new rent was likely to be in the mid-$200s, sources said.

The deal involves a substantial reduction in space at Collins Street and more space at 452 Flinders Street, up from 2500 sq m to 15,000 sq m.

Market sources said this could mean that Optus was consolidating all of its call centre space to Flinders Street. At present it leases about 6000 sq m in the northern Melbourne suburb of Preston as a call centre.

At Collins Street the space is likely to be reduced to about 15,000 sq m. It currently has about 25,000 sq m.

Optus adviser Stuart Allison of GVA Grimley refused to comment on the speculation.

Optus had been at the Collins Street address for about 10 years and recently extended its lease there until 2007.

In other market speculation UBS was believed to be close to signing for about 8000 sq m of space at 8 Exhibition Street on the site of the former Herald and Weekly Times building. UBS, which has been at 530 Collins Street, was believed to have wanted to move closer to its competitors around the "Paris end of Collins Street".

One source said yesterday: "They went to the market about a month ago and announced they would do this deal and no one really believed them."

What happened to C21 the tower that was going to replace the Prudential building?

http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/new-code-no-tenant-no-start/2005/07/12/1120934238086.html

New code: no tenant, no start
By Cameron Houston
Commercial property writer
July 13, 2005

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/07/12/pt_CRANE_ent-lead__200x177.jpg

Most new construction will only go ahead with a substantial precommitment, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.
Photo: Cullum Micallef

The prevailing theory that Melbourne's central business district office supply is determined by a seven-year construction cycle is up in the air, with many investors and developers no longer ready to subject themselves to a boom-and-bust cycle.

A Jones Lang LaSalle report shows most new construction will only proceed with a substantial precommitment from major tenants, who themselves are looking to reduce risk exposure.

JLL leasing director Kevin George predicted vacancy rates for CBD office space would fall to about 7 per cent by 2009 as developers cut the amount of speculative space in new projects.

"The majority of the buildings likely to be constructed over the next five to 10 years will be for substantial tenants occupying at least 85 per cent of the floor space, with a new building potentially coming onto the market every 12 to 18 months," Mr George said.

During the early 1990s building boom, only 7 per cent of construction was done on a precommitment basis, compared with about 70 per cent now, according to JLL research.

Major tenants including Insurance Australia Group, Victoria Police and Optus had all put briefs to the market, with floor space requirements of more than 25,000 square metres.

Mr George said corporate tenants typically favoured campus-style offices with floor plates above 2000 sq m, and cited AXA's new headquarters in the Docklands as an example.

While CBD development hinged on precommitments, there were already signs of speculative development in the suburbs. According to the Melbourne Metropolitan Office Market Indicators Report from Colliers International, vacancies in the metropolitan region fell to 7.08 per cent, with more than 71,000 sq m of office space absorbed over the past six months.

The city fringe market was even stronger, with vacancy rates of 3.53 per cent - the lowest of the eastern state capitals.

Colliers International suburban office chief executive, Rob Joyes, predicted the metropolitan market would continue to record historically low vacancy rates over the next year, which would spur speculative development, with more than 41,000 sq m already under construction.

"Demand for more efficient buildings, the overall stock shortage and the inability for older refurbished buildings to meet requirements for both efficiency and parking, means we must construct new buildings," Mr Joyes said. "And with rising land and building material costs, the rentals on these new buildings must rise to make construction viable."

According to Gormankelly director Robert Kelly, building costs had risen about 20 per cent over the past three years, but had begun to stabilise after a downturn in residential development.

He said office rents in the city fringe and eastern suburbs would continue to rise, triggering a wave of new strata-title development. Buyers could expect to pay $3600-$3800 per sq m for new developments and anything from $2500 per sq m for older strata premises.

Most new construction will only go ahead with a substantial precommitment
This is not new news, everyone I've spoken to in the industry, especially in the finance sector has told me that this has been the case for a while now.
Once bitten, twice shy!
Too many banks and developers got their fingers burnt in the 1980s.

Todays hun.

http://web.aanet.com.au/sirbugalugs/junk/property1rs.jpg

^^ more good news...hopefully this will all shave a couple of years off the wait for the next cycle, and hopefully all the new developments wont be campus style buildings :)

campus here we come!! just kidding. i reckon you guys might even get a big one (150m+ within a couple of years.
its all good.
checkout 1990 26%!!! fark

hey, i haven't been following, whats happening to Savoy Tower? skyscrapers.com says its approved...

It's not an office tower, it's residential + hotel. It's approved & the permit is still valid, but hasn't been marketed as the site has changed ownership.

i reckon you guys might even get a big one (150m+ within a couple of years.Like the 170m 565 Collins Street tower perhaps? :naughty:

It's not an office tower, it's residential + hotel.

The Age article on the sale of the site says otherwise.

from todays Australian

im so confused.
http://img331.imageshack.us/img331/6768/officelull2cy.jpg

Don't worry Mr C. Just more trash to fill the newspapers we all read.

"If you build it, they will come" It is very different from an article in the Herald Sun just last weekend which I have thrown out dam it.

Refer to Homer Simpson Quote regarding facts and figures (or statistics). I'll take the Herald's word for it and disregard the Australian.

another article in todays Financial Review, said that melb & Sydney have had it for few years and will go into an office slump, while Brisbane & Perth will go forward.
im sick of reading one thing and then another. In sydney this week a 13storey office bldg started, so things cant be that bad.lol

Fin review predicting a melbourne office slump? *shock*
They've been saying that for 2-3 years and it hasn't happened yet.

Right on. Just like the Pomms winning the Ashes. Sorry had to say it.

:poke: Nothing much has been posted here in a while. :poke:

Little property column on the back of the business section of the AGe today has a story about rumours that the NAB was in negotiations to buy AXA's campus building development from Grocon for $300m. Story is denied by Daniel Grollo, but apparently there are still some confidential negotiations afoot.... Hopefully its true and AXA will be forced into a nice skyscraper.

How would this force AXA into another building? I think that the NAB are in negotiations to buy through their property investment arm, not as NAB premises.

^That makes sense Kichigai because why would they buy AXA's campus to occupy (on Collins St.) when they have the option to build another next to their current Vic Harbour premises.

duh, my bad...i must have been having a slow day when i read the article...

^ No worries. We all make mistakes that's why they make erasers on pencils. :okay:

very convincing ;)

Melbourne surges ahead in office-space take-up
Paddy Manning
August 11, 2005

THE much-maligned Melbourne CBD was the biggest winner in yesterday's figures covering the state of Australia's office markets.

The Property Council of Australia says the Melbourne CBD had an extraordinary take-up of 87,626sqm office space in the first half.

Most of that was in the second quarter, with just 11,000sqm net absorption in the March quarter, but a phenomenal 83,000sqm in the June quarter, bringing the total to 94,000sqm, Jones Lang LaSalle says.

A major contributor to the high Melbourne figure was the take-up of 10,700sqm in Macquarie Office Fund's refurbished 150 Lonsdale Street tower, with new or expanded tenancies including Telstra, GHD Engineers and GMK Accountants. PCA chief executive Peter Verwer said Melbourne was the market "everybody got wrong".

GPT office portfolio manager Tony Cope said Melbourne office vacancy had been expected to peak at 12 to 14 per cent, but predictions had been revised down to 10 to 11 per cent, and he called the market "stable".

Then there's sickly Sydney, which recorded a solid 41,661sqm in net absorption, but is still hovering at 10.2 vacancy rate, the worst of any main capital CBD.

Sydney could get worse before it gets better. JLL found the bulk of the office take-up in Sydney occurred in the first quarter.

Only 7000sqm was occupied in the June quarter, according to JLL.

Brisbane, Stockland's Matthew Quinn said, was "tight as a drum", with the nation's second-lowest vacancy rate of 3.9 per cent (the lowest is Canberra at 2.9 per cent). There are concerns about planning constraints in the CBD with too many apartments and not enough room for office growth.

Perth's office market, riding the minerals and energy boom, was a paradox with extremely strong net absorption of 51,170sqm but almost no rent growth - just 0.3 per cent in the June quarter and 7 per cent in the 2004-05 year. Mr Cope said that was "why I sold out" of Perth.

"As soon as you get any rental growth, people go and build in east Perth, West Perth and Subiaco. There's always the threat of this much more competitive, low-rise stuff in nearby suburbs."

Unusually, Perth vacancy has fallen below 10 per cent, to 9.5 per cent, for the first time in years while West Perth vacancy has fallen too. Mr Verwer said it was rare for the markets to move in tandem.

Adelaide vacancies continue to drop to record lows, according to JLL figures, recording the lowest vacancy rate for 15 years at 8.4 per cent.

Outside the major CBD markets, only four of the 11 main non-CBD markets had vacancy rates above 10 per cent. Particularly struggling was Sydney's Crows Nest/St Leonards market, which recorded negative net absorption of 13,261sqm - meaning more space became vacant. It was the lowest net absorption of all monitored markets.

>> its fairly hard to see an office slump eventuating when every tower had a substantial pre-committment. last week E & Y Plaza reached 90% with the remaining space to be taken by AECOM.

seems the market's not maligned by too many in Melbourne...

Melbourne was the market "everybody got wrong"

Note to media: it's not 1990 anymore.

whats happening with Sydney now is former office tower DAs are being resubitted as "mixed use", which covers half office, half resi. i better idea i reckon. Were about to get 2 big ones-50st/188m JB Tower and 40st/188m 33 bligh st, both will start late 2005 or early 2006.Also 140m Mid city centre will start 2006. i just ignore stuff they write in papers. Im sure some big ones will start 2006 in melb. its so obvious from office absorbion from new projects.

Space race for offices downtown
Robert Harley
806 words
11 August 2005
Australian Financial Review


Growth in average primce gross effective rents as at June 2005
Sydney 1.2%
Melbourne 2.3%
Brisbane 17.5%
Adelaide 10.0%
Perth 7.0%
Canberra 2.8%

The country might be awash with residential apartments, but it is running out of office space. Vacancy levels in every central business district have shrunk in the past six months, mainly because of the boom in professional and public service jobs.

But the country's biggest city is lagging, with office towers in Sydney's CBD and suburbs still struggling to attract tenants because of the weakening state economy.

The strongest performing market is Brisbane, where solid business activity and a shortage of leasing opportunities have created the tightest office market on record.

Rents are rising and the towers that line the Brisbane River are now more expensive than those overlooking Melbourne's Yarra River.


In Melbourne and Perth, tenants took up more space than in any previous six-month period, driven by low occupancy costs in Collins Street and, along St Georges Terrace, by the mining boom. "It's a good news story for both the CBD and non-CBD markets pretty much around the country," the chief executive of the Property Council of Australia, Peter Verwer, said.

But the owners of Australia's office towers remain cautious as discounting on rentals is widespread, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, and the growth in building income stays limited.

Last week, the GPT Group the country's largest owner of office towers told investors that while Brisbane was strong, and Melbourne was solid, Sydney remained soft.

Almost 30 per cent of GPT's landmark Australia Square tower in Sydney was empty at June 30 and the like-on-like growth across the national portfolio for the half was marginal.

"Positive leading indicators in terms of job advertisements, employment gains and heightened business investment are all pointing in the right direction, so we are positive," GPT's office portfolio manager, Tony Cope, said.

In response, investors are bidding up office properties with yields falling and prices rising.

But the perennial question remains: is this the beginning of a boom in office demand, or will increased business productivity, and more supply, once again snuff out the upturn?

Research house BIS-Shrapnel, in the annual L.J. Hooker Property Market Monitor, argues that underlying demand is stronger than the current take-up.

Rents and values will strengthen further and fuel a short-lived "major construction cycle" before interest rates rise, and the economy deteriorates in 2007.

Urbis JHD director Simon Rumbold has a different view of the office market. He argues that in the medium term, increased productivity and declining work-space ratios are taking the edge off demand.

Speaking to the property council earlier this year, he said the strong take-up was a "short term blip" in reaction to falling rents and, particularly in Melbourne, increased supply.

In the CBDs alone, another 778,000 square metres of new and refurbished space will be added to the stock over the next 18 months. Much has been pre-committed, but as business and government moves to the new space, many older, less attractive buildings, will be left behind.

But that is in the future. The figures for the past half are upbeat. In the 17 CBD and suburban office markets monitored by the property council, the total amount of occupied office space rose by 5.9 per cent and the vacancy rate dropped to 8.2 per cent.

Only the Sydney CBD, Melbourne's South Bank (following the opening of the massive Freshwater Place tower) and three precincts crippled since the collapse of the IT boom, North Sydney, Crows Nest-St Leonards and Chatswood, now have vacancy rates in excess of 10 per cent.

The head of research at global real estate group Jones Lang LaSalle, Kathryn Matthews, said the demand was fuelled by the growth in white-collar employment, which had jumped 6 per cent in the year to June, to record the strongest rise since 2001.

On the JLL analysis, the construction and manufacturing sectors were the most active tenants, particularly in the suburbs. Next came the federal government, the IT industry and the finance and insurance sector.

In a pointer to the weakness in Sydney, Ms Matthews said that finance and insurance employment had risen 16 per cent in Victoria in the past year compared with just 5 per cent in NSW.

The upturn in office markets is also a global phenomenon. Tentatively in the US and Europe, and bullishly in Asia, the numbers are increasing in the office towers and business parks. Some IT groups, such as Google and Yahoo!, are hiring between 50 and 100 new staff worldwide each week.

Especially when they are advertising Jobs like this ! and there are many other Jobs going as well which concern On Site Supervisers etc which indicate start of Construction is not too far off ! :)
Package
Top Tier Builder
Immediate Start
We are currently seeking a Senior Estimator for a major top-tier builder who operate throughout Australia to work on the next phase of exciting projects in Melbourne.

You will possess a minimum of five years solid estimating (Quantity Surveying or Contracts Administration background considered) experience with a top-tier building contractor in Melbourne.

Knowledge of $50M+ projects in the New-build market is required and it is preferable that you will be IT literate and tertiary qualified in a directly related discipline.

You will be rewarded with a highly competitive salary package (negotiable) and the opportunity for future progression with a construction icon.

Estimating roles do not get any better than this - only the very best need apply!

To submit your application, please apply online using the appropriate link below, or email your resume to

apply@designandbuild.com.au

Alternatively, to find out more about this opportunity, please call Clair or Neil for a confidential conversation on 03 9696 8905.


Apply now

^^ We might be seeing the beginning of the next cycle! :)
:banana: :cucumber: :carrot: :pepper:

this is shaping up to be a very nice outlook for Australian cities.:)
Ah Woohoo!

Booyeah! Things can only get better... hopefully.

and one more post to make an even 200!!!!!OH BABY!!

Hopefully we get a good variety of towers, ranging from 150m to 250m in Melbourne and Brisbane. I think Brisbane would look aweosme wit ha supertall!:)

Hopefully they also give Transport House and Enterprise House makeovers. I'll never get over the fact they knocked down The Coffee Palace and replaced it with Enterprise.

Hopefully they also give Transport House and Enterprise House makeovers. I'll never get over the fact they knocked down The Coffee Palace and replaced it with Enterprise.

Well, they are planning to makeover Enterprise House. But I can't say much more than that sorry :(

Transport House is being refurbished, but no major change to the exterior :-(

Enterprise house is shown with a makeover in this rendering of 565 Collins Street, not very impressive but any change is better than what is there now!

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/565 collins forum.jpg

blurb in today's Capital Gain that 447 Collins may be back in the market due to the favourable office enviornment???

http://silvermb.thehoddlegrid.net/447collins_redevelopment.jpg

I like the shape of this building. Not bad at all. Btw, while we're improving Collins St, can we knock down the building immediately to the left. Ugly with a capital U.

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/565%20collins%20forum.jpg

This on the other hand is just crap. Space-frame-like stilts for a base is a terrible look.

http://silvermb.thehoddlegrid.net/447collins_redevelopment.jpg

This on the other hand is just crap. Space-frame-like stilts for a base is a terrible look.


Oh no, you guys are so spoiled. If you don't like that tower, we'll have it instead in Sydney anyday.

447 Collins is going in the little square right? Thats shit, lets fill in the hole of 565 first.

Oh no, you guys are so spoiled. If you don't like that tower, we'll have it instead in Sydney anyday.

You're welcome to it, far too 60s, stilts look crap if you ask me. :2cents:

That render of 565 Collins St on the other hand looks great, very different, but in a good way, is that just a proposal or are they actually going to make a start on something. 565 has been a hole in the ground for far too long.

Yeeah hopefully 565 will take all the attention away from EH and TH. 447 looks like some some alien tank from a bad 60's alien flick. (Cos of the stilts) PS: I hate stilts. On buildings anyway.

We are all guessing here. There is no real evidence to show that either of these 2 projects will get off the ground any time soon.

So there's still nothing approved or even in the pipeline for the afore-mentioned hole in the ground? A pity, as the more I look at that render for 565 the more I like it.....

565 Collins is approved, just waiting for tenents to sign up. 447 Colllins would have a massive impact on the skyline from Southabnk.

Hopefully they also give Transport House and Enterprise House makeovers. I'll never get over the fact they knocked down The Coffee Palace and replaced it with Enterprise.

I'll miss it forever too. But ... I don't want to be too fussy here, but if the building is going to face directly onto the street between three buildings (the third is the Rialto) which present diagonally, then why not at least set back far enough for your neighbours to look out of their windows?

Transport House is being refurbished, but no major change to the exterior <snip>

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/565 collins forum.jpg

I realize developers buy space to build buildings rather than plazas (that's been pretty obvious in the CBD lately). Perhaps this building design should wise up and accept the diagonal presentation too.

The AXA forecout proposal by DCM (as per render above) was rejected. I didn't like the tower, but I think the ground level area seems really cool. We did some work a few months ago on an analysis for this site. So the owner is still very interested in developing something on this site. Just not on this scale.

Re. Enterprise House, it will get a make over. Plans are already floating around. I believe the current tenant is moving out (Health Services) and they want to rebrand the building to attract me tennants.

Rejected!?! http://www.sayhey.co.uk/invboard/html/emoticons/huh.gif

Was that news posted b4?

the building was approved in 2000, went to market and was canned April 2001. it or another design will eventually be built, the property was bought by ISPT as a development site not too long ago

ISPT recently held a design competition among a select few firms in Melbourne for the 447 Collins / AXA redevelopment. I can tell you that it will be nothing like the original DCM proposal, apart from building in the forecourt area. ISPT wanted some different ideas on how to integrate the existing building with a new building (probably not as tall) as a site-wide strategy. The architects who competed were DCM, HASSELL, ARM, Bates Smart, Peddle Thorp and Buchan Group. Bates and Buchans were shortlisted to develop their schemes and a winner should be selected soon....I've heard the Bates scheme is pretty good and very different to their 'usual' FWP / 11 Exhibition style

There was also another recent comp for the grand central site....it seems ASD want other ideas apart from the Bates FWP clone and I know ARM were competing, not sure who else though...there will be a lot of competiton between sites for the next commercial development in Melbourne, so there might be a strategy to attract tenants with the "something different" pitch - good for fresh architecture

Fountainhead we owe you about 50 beers now ;)

thanks :guns1:

Fountainhead, you're a legend.

Fountainhead, you got to sneak me into your work somehow, you too joed.. Anyway nice info form the two of you.

how tall is the proposed 447 collins st? emporis doesnt list it.

ISPT recently held a design competition among a select few firms in Melbourne for the 447 Collins / AXA redevelopment. I can tell you that it will be nothing like the original DCM proposal, apart from building in the forecourt area. ISPT wanted some different ideas on how to integrate the existing building with a new building (probably not as tall) as a site-wide strategy.

Excellent news, as long as whoever modifies 447 actaully does some serious work, and doesn't just slap a coat of paint on it like so many other buildings around town.

Hopefully ASD have finally realised that the Grand Central site is a landmark CBD site and built something to suit the site, not waste it on a couple of average mid rise buildings for a quick buck.

The current AXA/447 Collins bulding is a pile of crap, it has an awful relationship to all four street frontages, the plaza is a waste of space and is a giant hole in the Collins Street Streetscape and the building itself is just plain ugly.

They should demolish and start from scratch.

I agree with you Grollo. I think they shoudl pull the whole thing down and start again. Its a huge site with potential for a wonderful tower that addresses the street unlike the current one which only provides blank walls to Market St, William St & Flinders Lane.

Yeah knock it down and build a 150m-200m or would that overshadow the Yarra?

might be close, you're the archi-student, you tell us ;)

^Woe is me. You have found me out for the fraud I am. I'm not really an architecture student but rather a pimple faced chubby teen with coke bottle glasses who can't get a girl. Lol. In other words I think it may overshadow the Yarra but that didn't stop the Rialto getting built. Also I fight crime by night, but don't tell anyone, hence the nick and sinister looking avatar. It masks all my little insecurities. :hahaha:

Rialto, Optus and Co were built before the overshadowing restrictions were put in place ;)

But even pulling down the pile of crap (to quote Grollo, and I agree with him) at 447 and putting up something similar in height and superior in design would be a boon.

Talking about overshadowing restrictions, but even with those, you could put up a 150 m and should have minimal effect when you've got Rialto just down the block. Could anyone give me more details on exactly what those restrictions are?

The DCM design for 447 Collins was 156m tall and that was about as tall as you can go without overshadowing the Yarra, you could maybe get up to 160 with a sloping roof feature.

I think with the overshodowing rule. No building can EVER overshadow the Yarra or up to 15m of it - or something like that. Not 100% sure though.

You need a permit to overshadow the north bank of the Yarra and it is prohibited to overshadow the south bank of the Yarra.

The Docklands Auhtority had to amend the planning scheme to allow the posts for the marina at Yarras Edge because they overshadowed the south bank of the Yarra hehehehe. The planning scheme was also amended to allow the proposed mast on the top of the Rialto to overshadow the south bank even though the Rialto itself already creates a huge shadow across the south bank.

Anyways beaut Photo as well , but some more Goss ! :) http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/big-cbd-tenants-on-the-march/2005/08/16/1123958063494.html?oneclick=trueThe fall in Melbourne's central business district vacancy rate to 7.7 per cent has forced tenants to review their needs, with occupancy levels expected to improve further over the next year.

Jones Lang LaSalle leasing director Kevin George said prime CBD office space had been rapidly absorbed in the current market, causing several major tenants to relocate up to six years before lease expiry.

UBS Warburg will vacate its existing premises at 530 Collins Street almost three years before the lease expires, Rio Tinto will move to 120 Collins Street with more than a year to run on its current lease, and Blake Dawson Waldron is expected to move next year despite having a lease at 101 Collins Street until 2011.

"Larger tenants continue to take control of their destiny as the likes of Ericsson and Insurance Australia Group pursue new development proposals," Mr George said.

"Tenants under 10,000 square metres that need to be in the CBD don't have the size and, in many cases, the time to make a new building happen."

JLL research shows that 86,000 sq m of office space entered the market in the June quarter, including Freshwater Place, 11 Exhibition Street and the new RACV headquarters at 501 Bourke Street.

Advertisement
AdvertisementBut more than 80 per cent of the new stock was precommitted, which underscored the strength of demand, Mr George said. "The hectares of vacant space predicted in 2000 has been offset by a spike in demand and a massive take-up of almost 94,000 sq m in the first half and more than 209,000 sq m in the past 12 months."

Even the 228,000 sq m under refurbishment was almost 70 per cent precommitted, with only 132,000 sq m of space under construction expected to come on line over the next year.

The buoyant condition of the CBD market is confirmed by the Property Council of Australia's annual data showing the Melbourne CBD market absorbed more than 150,000 sq m of space over the past year — more than double any other capital city, including Sydney.

Knight Frank director Mark Ragmussen said incentive deals for CBD office space had been slashed by half as the market continued to tighten, and he expected upward pressure on rents by the middle of 2006.

"Incentives have dropped from 30 per cent to be around 15 to 20 per cent and it will only take one trigger for them to disappear completely," Mr Ragmussen said.

"If Southern Cross gets fully leased, that could really put the bullet under CBD rents."

While most CBD precincts recorded stronger levels of occupancy, Southbank vacancy rates defied the broader trend and doubled to 10.4 per cent as Australand's Freshwater Place came onto the market.

Vacancy rates in the eastern core also increased from 5.2 per cent to 8.8 per cent, according to JLL research director Nerida Conisbee. She attributed the rise to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission leaving 80 Collins Street and William M. Mercer leaving 101 Collins Street.

Ms Conisbee said prime gross effective rents rose 2 per cent over the quarter from $312 per sq m to $318. Secondary gross effective rents increased from $197per sq m to $202.

KEY POINTS
■Prime CBD office space is in demand, vacancies have fallen.
■Big tenants thinking ahead are moving before leases expire.

■Rents are likely to rise from mid-2006, incentives are down.

I like how they say the successful candidate will work on one of several Major Projects in Melbourne , also take Note that this is for a Top Tier Builder specializing in Large Highrise developments ! :) Project Manager - High Rise
Package to $200k
Excellent Employer
Major Projects
We are currently seeking to recruit a Senior Project Manager for a major builder in the Melbourne construction industry.

Well established and regarded, they offer excellent working conditions, opportunity for future growth and a young, dynamic working culture that would suit somebody who wants to progress their career with one of the best employers round.

To be considered for this outstanding opportunity you must be able to fulfill the following criteria:

5 years plus experience as a Project Manager
Experienced with a solid VIC building contractor
Experience on a variety of commercial building projects with a specialty in the High-Rise sector
You will be responsible for:
Delivery of each project
Managing a large site team
Client and sub-contractor liaison
The successful candidate will work on one of several major projects in Melbourne.

Ideally you will have recent experience with one of the top tier builders in Melbourne and you will understand what it takes to deliver high quality results on time and to budget.

A relevant tertiary qualification within construction would be ideal and applicants with a trade background are highly sought.

The successful applicant will be rewarded with a package in the $150k-$200k range depending on level of experience.

To submit your application, please apply online using the appropriate link below, or email your resume to

apply@designandbuild.com.au

Alternatively, to find out more about these opportunity's, please call Clair or Neil for a confidential conversation on 03 9696 8905.




Apply now


To be eligible to apply for this position you must have an appropriate Australian or New Zealand work visa.

^^ eeee!

I think Grollo would be idealy suited for that job.....

:banana2:

Sign of the times for AXA office
Maurice Dunlevy
August 18, 2005
THE National Australia Bank is finalising the purchase of an office complex planned for financial services giant AXA at the Melbourne Docklands at a price believed to be about $300million.

NAB has the yet to be built 36,000sqm complex under due diligence in a direct deal with Grocon, which late last year won the right to build Melbourne's latest office building.

The Collins St complex, set for completion by the end of 2007, is expected to cost the NAB nearly $300million in a sub-7 per cent yield transaction likely to be completed within weeks.

Grocon, understood to be still involved in sensitive lease negotiations with AXA, was not available for comment on its decision to on-sell the campus-style complex, the second major office building to be located on the Collins St extension.

According to sources, AXA has still not signed its long-term lease, but is expected to do so shortly.









With the NAB not having any listed property trusts, the purchase has raised the prospect of the bank establishing a single-building trust, as Westpac did for its $670 million KentSt headquarters building in Sydney.

The NAB declined to comment on the Docklands negotiations, which are being handled by its structured property department.

Whether or not the purchase signals the start of a NAB push into the property funds management business, it's another step forward for the Melbourne Docklands, as big business heads to the waterfront precinct.

With the ANZ Banking Group tipped to occupy 100,000sqm of space at Docklands in up to five buildings, the NAB has a head start, occupying two GPT-owned campus-style buildings opposite Telstra Dome, in the Lend Lease-controlled Victoria Harbour precinct. The NAB, which has taken out 58,000sqm in the two buildings after consolidating around a dozen sites, is now expected to take up an option on a third building that would involve the bank moving its 500 Bourke St head office and international banking operations to Docklands.

Medibank Private and the Bureau of Meteorology already anchor a Cromwell-owned office building at 700Collins St, which is only a short distance from the planned AXA complex at the corner of Collins St and Batman Drive, while Bendigo Bank occupies an Australian Property Network-owned building within the shadow of the Telstra Dome stadium.

The APN office building is attached to the Devine-owned Victoria Point apartment development.

The developer, Digital Harbour Holdings, which is jointly owned by the Liberman family's JGL Investments and investment bank Babcock & Brown, has already built one building at the Comtechport precinct, and on Monday will announce the start of another, while both Ian Gandel and Morry Schwartz are planning new office projects.

Meanwhile, Cromwell's $90 million purchase of 380-390 La Trobe St is expected to be finalised tomorrow, when its contract to buy becomes unconditional. Developed by the Australian Property Network, the 24-level building is owned by the Australian National University. :)

36,000sqm campus style? what does that equate to if it was highrise? 40storeys?

I guess we have to rely on medium sized enterprises like law firms, consultancy firms, accountants, etc for new high-rises, it seems businesses that need floor space en masse want it in large floorplates... Such large floorplates would be inappropriate for some of the former, as they'd be sharing floors....

AXA and ANZ taking up to 136,000 sqm of new space in Docklands is great.....BUT youd think that almost this amount would be left over in its empty CBD offices which is a real problem for tall scraper lovers like us.

campus style offices = natural enemy of tall scraper lovers.
lol
look at it this way, at least Docklands is progressing with new developments.

^^ how true....and land there is very finite....

AXA and ANZ taking up to 136,000 sqm of new space in Docklands is great.....BUT youd think that almost this amount would be left over in its empty CBD offices which is a real problem for tall scraper lovers like us.
spaz, you said the same thing 2-3 years ago, look at the Vacancy rate now: 7.7%

ANZ moving to Docklands was a rumour which was proven to be untrue?Construction of the Third NAB building will be great for Docklands, filling in the gaping hole between Dock 5 and NAB. Hopefully 500 Bourke will get a major refurbishment and recladding.

Sign of the times for AXA office
Maurice Dunlevy
August 18, 2005
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16295446%255E25658,00.html

THE National Australia Bank is finalising the purchase of an office complex planned for financial services giant AXA at the Melbourne Docklands at a price believed to be about $300million.

NAB has the yet to be built 36,000sqm complex under due diligence in a direct deal with Grocon, which late last year won the right to build Melbourne's latest office building.

The Collins St complex, set for completion by the end of 2007, is expected to cost the NAB nearly $300million in a sub-7 per cent yield transaction likely to be completed within weeks.

Grocon, understood to be still involved in sensitive lease negotiations with AXA, was not available for comment on its decision to on-sell the campus-style complex, the second major office building to be located on the Collins St extension.

According to sources, AXA has still not signed its long-term lease, but is expected to do so shortly.

With the NAB not having any listed property trusts, the purchase has raised the prospect of the bank establishing a single-building trust, as Westpac did for its $670 million KentSt headquarters building in Sydney.

The NAB declined to comment on the Docklands negotiations, which are being handled by its structured property department.

Whether or not the purchase signals the start of a NAB push into the property funds management business, it's another step forward for the Melbourne Docklands, as big business heads to the waterfront precinct.

With the ANZ Banking Group tipped to occupy 100,000sqm of space at Docklands in up to five buildings, the NAB has a head start, occupying two GPT-owned campus-style buildings opposite Telstra Dome, in the Lend Lease-controlled Victoria Harbour precinct. The NAB, which has taken out 58,000sqm in the two buildings after consolidating around a dozen sites, is now expected to take up an option on a third building that would involve the bank moving its 500 Bourke St head office and international banking operations to Docklands.

Medibank Private and the Bureau of Meteorology already anchor a Cromwell-owned office building at 700Collins St, which is only a short distance from the planned AXA complex at the corner of Collins St and Batman Drive, while Bendigo Bank occupies an Australian Property Network-owned building within the shadow of the Telstra Dome stadium.

The APN office building is attached to the Devine-owned Victoria Point apartment development.

The developer, Digital Harbour Holdings, which is jointly owned by the Liberman family's JGL Investments and investment bank Babcock & Brown, has already built one building at the Comtechport precinct, and on Monday will announce the start of another, while both Ian Gandel and Morry Schwartz are planning new office projects.

Meanwhile, Cromwell's $90 million purchase of 380-390 La Trobe St is expected to be finalised tomorrow, when its contract to buy becomes unconditional. Developed by the Australian Property Network, the 24-level building is owned by the Australian National University.

that was posted on the previous page goon ;)

Doh.. sorry for the doubleup.

AFR
Melbourne's paradox repays faith
Mathew Dunckley
25 August 2005

Melbourne's office market may have experienced some rental softness, but with capital growth strong there are still far more investment buyers around than stock available, says Savills Australia's associate director of research, Marc Pallisco.

Mr Pallisco said a study tracking sales of CBD office property held for less than five years and sold since the start of 2004 showed solid returns.

"Those who stayed out of the Melbourne CBD office market for fear of vacancy blow-out have lost out on significant capital growth," he said.

Only two of the nine buildings sold, 601 Bourke Street and 470 Collins Street, were refurbished. The nine fetched an average annual compound growth of 10.79 per cent. The best gain was realised at 661 Bourke Street, which was sold for $65 million after being bought for $40 million three years earlier.

The biggest dollar gain was at 321 Exhibition Street where Valad sold Australia Post House to Allco/Record Realty for $28.55 million more than the $82.7 million it had paid just two years earlier.

Mr Pallisco said the sales reflected the Melbourne market's "paradox" a recent history of discounted rents but resilient demand for investment stock.

"Lack of investment-grade stock remains the central obstacle to Melbourne's investment market. There are still far more buyers than there is stock."

The market would remain "gridlocked" until about 2010 when superannuation-focused institutions might start to unlock their pools of capital.

"Despite the rental market being soft, the capital market is very strong and benchmarks yields and discount rates continue to contract," Mr Pallisco said.

Yields for quality stock sat at between 6.75 per cent and 7.75 per cent.

The other sales identified were: 533 Little Lonsdale Street, bought for $11.7 million and sold for $15.45 million four years later; 392 Lonsdale Street, bought for $9 million and sold for $12.1 million 31/2 years later; 1 Spring Street bought for $70 million and sold for $77 million 31/2 years later; 136 Exhibition Street, bought for $7.56 million and sold for $16.35 million five years later; and 406 Collins Street bought for $8.86 million and sold for $7.3 million three years later.

Will the newer 3rd NAB building @ Docklands be the same or similar to its funky offices already there? Anyone know or have an inkling?

Hopefully 500 Bourke will get a major refurbishment and recladding.Needs it, like real bad. They can leave the funky external load bearing columns on the corners though as they would have to. They're quite unique & IMO the tower's best feature. Maybe just a good scrub on them or some sleek-looking tiled cladding would be nifty :okay:

__http://www.skyscraperphotos.com/cit/dme00/c/izme050.jpg_http://www.skyscraperphotos.com/cit/dme00/b/izme046.jpg

Architecturally speaking, I quite like the building. Its windows, cladding and colour are heinous though.

aren't windows, cladding and colour (the bits and pieces that make up the solution the architect has created) a part of 'architecture' :?

^^ OK...I like the structure, not the cladding finishes. how's that? =p

I'm not going to defend this building but we have to start appreciating our 60s, 70s and even 80s architecture otherwise in 30 years time all we''ll have are cladded buildings from these periods.

Needs it, like real bad. They can leave the funky external load bearing columns on the corners though as they would have to. They're quite unique & IMO the tower's best feature. Maybe just a good scrub on them or some sleek-looking tiled cladding would be nifty :okay:

__http://www.skyscraperphotos.com/cit/dme00/c/izme050.jpg_http://www.skyscraperphotos.com/cit/dme00/b/izme046.jpg

Agree with you, still a very distinguished building, just the exterior cladding is very outdated. A makeover would be great. Also the grammar nazi compels me to point out that something can't be "quite unique", the word is an absolute and you can't add a qualifier to it. :)

Will the newer 3rd NAB building @ Docklands be the same or similar to its funky offices already there? Anyone know or have an inkling?
As far as I know, it was always meant to be the same as the other two. I doubt anything has changed.

what i would do with the old nab tower would not be to reclad it, but "wrap" it with a new glass facade (like aurora place) or perforated (shiny) metal skin on the outer edge of the 4 columns. Perforated metal could have the company logo "embossed" on it. My ideas are great IMHO! muahahahahaha! :D

I like NAB in the horrible uglyness it is now, I mean its SO ugly its good.

Capital Gain is saying that the forecast is for 300,000sqm of space to be absorbed in the CBD over this and next year & that the leasing market is the strongest it's been in 15-20 years.

300,000sqm! that's just under 3 Rialtos! :eek2:

everything's filling up quite nicely.

AFR
Rush to rent in Melbourne's Freshwater
Mathew Dunckley
8 September 2005

Melbourne's continuing thirst for office space has seen more than 12,000 square metres soaked up at Southbank's Freshwater Place in the past three months.

The 38-storey building held its official opening in Melbourne this week and Colliers' Victorian head of commercial leasing, Andrew Tracey, said about 5000 sq m was all that remained on offer, surpassing "even the most optimistic expectations".

Anchor tenant PricewaterhouseCoopers pre-committed to 25,000 sq m of the 55,000 sq m building in 2002 and moved in during June.

In May, 8100 sq m of space had been taken up with tenants such as Vanguard Investments (2900 sq m) and Olympus Valley.

Since then, tenants committed to the building include Zinifex (2300 sq m), Portfolio Partners (1400 sq m), LEK Consulting (550 sq m), Arrive Wealth Management (330 sq m), SPI Powernet (5800 sq m), McCain Foods (300 sq m) and Pilgrim Capital (500 sq m).

The Australian Financial Review understands that PMP Ltd has taken 5000 sq m of low rise space and HJ Heinz will lease about 3000 sq m.

Five other major tenants have also signed up but are still subject to documentation and confidentiality agreements.

Office rentals ranged from $335 per sq m net in the low rise up to $375 per sq m net in the high rise record levels for non-CBD office space and well above other rents in Southbank, Mr Tracey said.

"In terms of other rents down there they top out at about $285 per sq m," he said.

Despite being a stone's throw from Flinders Street Station and the finance precinct, Mr Tracey said the Yarra River created a barrier in the minds of tenants, meaning Southbank was still viewed as CBD fringe.

"People definitely regard it as a non-CBD location. Do people believe that Docklands is part of the CBD? No it has links to the CBD and Southbank is the same thing," he said.

But the building had managed to achieve the CBD-comparable rents through its "unique features", such as access to CityLink and environmental performance, he said.

Sean McMahon, deputy general manager at Australand, which built Freshwater, said the building would achieve a 4.5 star energy rating from the Sustainable Energy Authority Victoria.

"Anybody who builds these days without a high regard for the building's likely impact on both internal and external environments is heading for trouble," he said.

Bring on the Next Freshwater Place tower with another 50,000 square metres of office sapce!!!

they should just forget about making FWP2 a mixed used and make it a full 40 level office bldg. i can see melbourne being thirsty for office over next few years but i think resi will be suffice for a while.

There will be nearly as much office space in FWP2 as there is in the PWC tower because of the huge floorplates on the lower levels. So I don't think they would be allowed any more office space on the site.

Banker vaults to new HQ
Maurice Dunlevy


THE AUSTRLIAN September 01, 2005

INVESTMENT bank UBS plans to relocate its entire Melbourne operation to the Ernst & Young building coming up at 8 Exhibition Street.

The group has entered into a lease deal understood to involve 6500sqm of office space with the building owner, Australian Super Developments, to occupy mid-rise floors of the 35-storey tower.

While details have not been disclosed, UBS is believed to have signed at least a 10-year lease, paying around $300sqm.

With the lease deal almost certain to include a chunky incentive, industry sources believe UBS will pay an effective rental in the mid-$200s.

UBS, which will relocate in the second half of next year, is a tenant at GPT's 530 Collins Street, where it is understood to have around three years to run on its lease.

UBS could not be contacted yesterday, but is understood to have been keen for some time to move to the eastern end of the Melbourne CBD, where most of its peers are located.

Ernst & Young will anchor the new office building - now 80 per cent-leased - being constructed by Bovis Lend Lease.

The building is due for completion by the end of next month.

The Myer family business has already signed on as a tenant, while engineering group Maunsell Australia, now housed at 161 Collins Street, is expected to follow.

Space shrinking in Brisbane, Perth
Kathryn House
768 words
16 September 2005
Australian Financial Review
First
70
English
© 2005 Copyright John Fairfax Holdings Limited. www.afr.com Not available for re-distribution.

National CBD availability
Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Perth Total
Total prime NLA* (sqm) 2,328,568 2,216,294 780,599 689,309 6,014,770
Total prime occupied stock (sq m) 2,085,541 2,108,914 759,213 657,038 5,610,705
Prime full-floor availability (sq m) 243,027 107,380 21,386 32,271 404,064
Prime full-floor availability 12.70% 4.80% 2.70% 4.70% 6.70%
Prime floors available 193 86 19 31 329
Prime total contiguous 163 57 14 18 252
Prime max contiguous 14 10 10 5 14
*Net lettable area

The Brisbane office leasing market has emerged as by far the strongest in the country in the past 12 months.

But just how far ahead of competing markets, such as Sydney, it has run has been thrown into sharp relief by a new Savills survey, which shows the city has just 19 full floors of prime office space available for lease.

Compare that with Sydney, where tenants have 193 prime office floors to choose from, or Melbourne, where 86 floors of space are up for grabs.

And the chronic shortage of space is only going to get worse in Brisbane according to Savills Queensland research manager Paul Day. Of the 19 floors available, 14 are in the recently completed Riparian Plaza development and negotiations are already in train on two of those floors.

Mr Day said there were also strong rumours that BHP Billiton was closely assessing Riparian for its 8000 square metre lease requirement a deal that would leave just 11 floors of available prime space in the city.

No new stock is due to come on stream until the second half of 2006 when the 55,000 square metre Brisbane Square development is completed.

But that building is fully precommitted to Brisbane City Council and Suncorp so only backfill space from those tenants would become available for lease.

Tenants wanting new office space would, Mr Day said, have to wait until the next construction cycle in 2007 or early 2008.

"Clearly, the Brisbane CBD office market is going to get very tight during this period and the CBD will lose some tenants to the 'fringe' suburbs", Mr Day said.

The Savills report assesses how many full floors of prime office space are actually available for lease within major CBD markets, not just areas that are physically vacant.

The report was first compiled for Sydney 18 months ago but has now been expanded to Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.

Savills' head of research, Chris Freeman, argues the report gives a truer representation of market conditions than standard vacancy surveys by taking into account backfill space where the tenants have yet to relocate as well as new office space under construction.

The figures paint a relatively grim picture for Sydney, which has 12.7 per cent of its full floors of office space available for lease. Melbourne has the next largest stock of available space 86 full floors or 4.8 per cent of its total stock.

Perth is next on the rankings with 31 full floors 4.7 per cent of its stock followed by Brisbane, where just 2.7 per cent of the city's prime office floors is available for lease.

Mr Freeman said the wide discrepancy between Sydney and Brisbane had been reflected in rental movements. While rents had remained static in Sydney in the first half of the year, effective rentals in Brisbane had spiked by more than 12 per cent over the same period.

Perth has also been strong, with the Savills report showing the market has continued to tighten since official vacancy figures were released by the Property Council of Australia.

While the PCA data pointed to a 9.5 per cent vacancy rate in Perth, Savills' West Australian divisional director of commercial leasing,Graham Postma, said the agency's report showed only three premium grade office floors were available in Perth, all in Central Park.

A-grade space was also in limited supply. While the largest number of available floors were in 45 St Georges Terrace, the five office levels there would not be vacated until February 2007.

Mr Postma said the only other options available for larger tenants were just over 3000 square metres over three floors in The Forrest Centre and three floors in The Quadrant.

KEY POINTS

* A Savills report finds available space in the Brisbane office market has fallen dramatically.

* Perth has the next tightest office market, says the report.

Not much difference in total prime between Mel & Syd eh.

^^ Indeed and Melb has more occupied..

they should just forget about making FWP2 a mixed used and make it a full 40 level office bldg. i can see melbourne being thirsty for office over next few years but i think resi will be suffice for a while.
no, they should just build it TALLER! :D

Comparable prime NLAs in Syd & Mel explains why Mel can take it to Syd in the scraper stakes (my definition of scraper is 150m+ of course). :D

The Age

Capital Gain
Helen Westerman and Hugh Martin, CAMERON HOUSTON
17 September 2005

Customs signs on at Digital Harbour

THE ink is drying on a new lease agreement between Dockland's Digital Harbour and the Australian Customs Service, which has agreed to a 10-year lease on 10,000 square metres at 1010 La Trobe Street.

An ACS spokesman says the deal has the support of Federal Minister for Justice and Customs Chris Ellison, but is still subject to approval from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Public Works Committee.

The deal is yet another coup for joint owners Babcock & Brown and the Liberman family's JGL Investments, who have been in negotiations with the ACS for several months.

The government department also held talks with Lend Lease regarding a potential occupancy at Victoria Harbour, while Investa had tried in vain to coax it into staying at 414 La Trobe Street, where the department's 15-year lease expires in May, 2007.

But the new lease raises questions over a $22.5 million grant from the Federal Government's Federation Fund, which was intended to help establish Digital Harbour (above right) as a leading technological hub that would accommodate research and development-based organisations.

It's difficult to see how the ACS could be construed as a cutting-edge R&D organisation, or for that matter, fellow tenants VicTrack and Film Victoria, which recently took up 3500 square metres in the building.

With an estimated fortune of $1.6 billion, the Liberman family may not seem a worthy recipient of government largesse, while the same could be said for investment house Babcock & Brown.

Digital Harbour's executive chairman and JGL Investments spokesman Morris Joffe did not return our calls, but according to his personal assistant: "Mr Joffe doesn't usually talk with journalists."

Babcock & Brown's communications department was similarly reticent and failed to return calls before Capital Gain's deadline.

-- CAMERON HOUSTON

New concept for Northbank

Far East Consortium and Melbourne Aquarium owner Oceanis has reinvigorated its plans for Melbourne's former fishmarket site, bounded by Spencer and Flinders streets, Kingsway and Batman Park.

With the demolition of the Flinders Street overpass all but complete and a new King and Flinders streets intersection due by March 2006, the consortium is preparing to hit the market with this new concept (right).

A campus-style building with a potential mix of office, hotel and residential space will be a central component in the redevelopment of Melbourne's shabby Northbank precinct.

The building will be able to offer 5000-square-metre floorplates, depending on the requirements of an anchor tenant, which is currently being sought by the consortium.

The design is an evolution of an earlier concept featuring apartments above ground-floor commercial space, but the new concept scales back the apartments.

Far East Consortium director Craig Williams believes the building to be the best solution for the site, which currently serves as a car park, and has until March 2007, to put his plans into action.

The renewed concept brings to four the number of proposed CBD buildings awaiting a tenancy precommitment, including Harry Stamoulis' 559 Collins Street, Australian Super Development's Grand Central site on the corner of William and Bourke streets, and Drapac Property's recently purchased Mazda site, opposite the Queen Victoria Market.

Recipe for success

The fortunes of the once-struggling Food in the City food hall seem to have reversed, with its Sydney-based investor owner Joshua Berger revitalising the Asian-style eatery at 55 Swanston Street.

With a change of tenants and the removal of a head lessee, it appears Mr Berger has developed a recipe for retail success.

The food hall, which is now home to about five outlets, is said to be one of the priciest slices of city real estate for rent, with one tenant reportedly committing to a rent of almost $6000 a square metre. This rate would be a record for the CBD and eclipse the premiums paid for space on Bourke Street Mall. And these pricey slices are just that, with some tenancies measuring only several square metres.

This result is a sharp turnaround for Mr Berger, who last year paid about $8 million for the ground floor and an upper level of the Swanston Street retail space that was once home to the much-maligned Time Zone amusement parlour.

A dispute between its tenants and the former head lessee, Asian food chain the China Bar, saw the outlet closed at the end of last year amid claims of misleading turnover expectations, excessive rents demanded from subtenants and unpaid rent to Mr Berger.

China Bar chain took out the head lease - said to be about $680,000 gross - refurbished the space and secured subtenants. However, problems arose after the cost of the refurbishment, which included a balcony overlooking Swanston Street, went $1 million over budget to $2.5 million.

The balcony opens off an upper level that was to contain a wine bar and restaurant. It has now been converted into office suites, which is thought to be a more successful use of the space.

Wheel set in motion

Dockland's Waterfront City is set to launch a tender process for the construction of its Observation Wheel, following the completion of its first prototype pod in Japan, developer ING Real Estate has confirmed.

The budget for the 120-metre structure at the 19-hectare site in the north-west section of Docklands is running at $70 million. ING hopes to launch a construction tender process within six weeks.

Construction would probably start on the site in the first quarter of 2006.

The prototype pod has been designed and constructed by Sanoyas Hishino Meisho Corporation, a major global manufacturer of amusement wheels and a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo.

ING Real Estate's Mark Broomfield says the pods, spindle and most of the technology, such as the wheel's operating system, will be completed in Japan and assembled here later.

Part of the domestic tender will involve the legs of the wheel and a support building that will include administration, ticketing and a function room, he says.

-- capitalgain@theage.com.au

Last week, Capital Gain reported that Fairfax, publisher of The Age, was investigating a Docklands site known as Site 7 as a new head office for the newspaper. We incorrectly stated the site was on the south-west corner of Spencer and Bourke streets. Site 7 is on the south-west corner of Spencer and Collins streets. The mistake was made by a reporter. :sly:

Australia post have put in an application to change the zoning of the land on the southwestern corner of Spencer and Latrobe Streets from Mixed Use Zone to Capital City Zone to allow for the development of the site.

This means they are planning something really big for the site as only the largest of projects would not be approved under the current Mixed Use Zoning.

It's a big site, almost the size of half a CBD block and has no height limits!

$ching$

http://thehoddlegrid.net/dump/austpostsite.jpg

This now makes the real estate agents for Mondriane into even bigger truth-interpreters when they tell prospective buyers that the apartments on the Spencer St side have preserved views.

(As if the presence of a huge flat shed opposite wouldn't raise suspicions in the first place)

This now makes the real estate agents for Mondriane into even bigger truth-interpreters when they tell prospective buyers that the apartments on the Spencer St side have preserved views.

(As if the presence of a huge flat shed opposite wouldn't raise suspicions in the first place)
Preserved views of railway lines and a razor wired remand centre...

Preserved views of railway lines and a razor wired remand centre...It's not so bad once you get past the railway lines - and even better when the weather's not crappy like in this shot...

http://static.flickr.com/32/45530881_3a8eb08665_o.jpg

:) ONE of Melbourne CBD's most notorious vacant sites will become the home of Insurance Australia Group following a deal with the site's owners, Australian Super Developments, a subsidiary of industry fund CBUS.

ASD will build a 27-storey building of 43,000 square metres on the site at 538 Bourke Street, on the corner of William Street, after IAG agreed to lease 27,000 sq m. The deal will significantly rejuvenate the western end of the city and is a shot in the arm for the CBD office market, which has had a number of businesses move to Docklands.

IAG, which operates as CGU and Swann Insurance brands in Victoria, will bring together 2000 staff located across four different CBD sites. The building will be branded as CGU.

The site, known as the Grand Central, is made up of the former Jetset building on Bourke Street, a small park and three derelict buildings along William Street, which have been vacant since the mid-1990s. Lend Lease sold the site in 1998 to developer David Marriner's company, Australian Staged Developments, for $20 million. He sold the company to CBUS in 2000, when it was renamed Australian Super Developments.

Advertisement
AdvertisementAmong the many mooted developments for the site was a 57-level office tower proposed by Lend Lease in 1991. In 1998, a hotel conversion of the Jetset building was approved, as well as refurbishment of 171 William Street into offices and a restaurant. A small garden was built.

In 2002, the demolition of the William Street buildings was approved for a 27-level building.

ASD chief executive Kevin Fitzpatrick said the rejuvenated precinct was likely to include a second commercial tower, as well as public area with mixed retail, cafe and restaurant outlets and "possibly" a boutique hotel.

The leasing deal will be seen as a boost for the CBD market. ASD is said to have narrowly missed out to Grocon to build AXA Asia Pacific's new headquarters, which opted to move to 800 Collins Street in Docklands. However, it has nearly completed the home of the Ernst & Young Building at the former Herald and Weekly Times Building.

Mr Fitzpatrick said ASD had persevered for four years to tackle market needs, with environmentally sustainable performance outcomes. He said ASD would try to achieve a five-star Green Star rating for the building, the first privately owned building in Melbourne to commit to that level.


Free home delivery and a chance to win a $12,000 indulgent escape*

Quick Start as Well , another crane over Melbourne in 2006 !

IAG to build towers
Nicole Lindsay
27sep05

INSURANCE Australia Group will anchor a long-awaited new commercial development on the corner of Bourke and William Streets.

The site's owner, Australian Super Developments, will develop a commercial precinct that could be worth worth up to $250 million on the former Central Gardens site at 538 Bourke St.
Two office towers, shops, restaurants and a 4.5 star hotel are planned for half-city block between Bourke, William, and Little Bourke Streets and Ramsay Lane.

IAG will lease 27,000 sq m of space -- more than half of the 43,000 sq m -- in a 27-level tower, that will be branded as the CGU tower.

IAG trades in Victoria under the CGU and Swann Insurance brands.









ASD chief executive Kevin Fitzpatrick said "The CGU tower will underpin the total redevelopment of Melbourne's western precinct.

"Most importantly, we have a joint initiative to achieve a five star Green Star ESD rating for the building -- the first non-government owned building to commit to this level of ESD performance in Melbourne," Mr Fitzpatrick said.

Now that ASD has the green light for 538 Bourke Street, other businesses and government organisations could also fall into line.

Some potential tenants do not want to be the first to commit to a project and have adopted a wait and see approach.

Mr Fitzpatrick said the new tower is the only CBD tower ready to start in 2006.

ASD is a subsidiary of Cbus, one of the largest industry superannuation funds in Australia.

Laing+Simmons managed IAG's lease negotiations, while Colliers International's Simon Hunt acted for ASD.

great news. pretty substantial size building. 130m according to emporis. will it actually show on skyline?

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/8349/538bourkest5oz.jpg

Central, perhaps. Grand, No!

oh fuck.

great news. pretty substantial size building. 130m according to emporis. will it actually show on skyline?

If someone could find or draw some floor plans pretty close to the real thing I could make a render and put it into the skyline.

i havent got plans but heres a quick diagram showing height compared to surrounding bldgs.
ive estimated 150mRl. the cnr there is approx 20mRL.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/1830/538bourkest6nf.jpg

^^ BORRRRING!! :down: :(
Waste of a good site. :bash:

I agree :(

Thanks Cul I'll give it a go. With the diagram and render I should be able to come up with an approximate render. I should have something by tomorrow. Just one question do you think it's a combination of black glass (PwC) and clear glass ( BHP @ QV)?

yeah bit of light grey glass for east side and dark glass for west side.

^^ BORRRRING!! :down: :(
Waste of a good site. :bash:


Bugger me Walter.

What's better?????? A 130m building that employs builders, cleaners, security, office staff etc or a fucking shit piece of busted up concrete and dead grass. :dunno: :dunno: :dunno: :dunno: :dunno:

^^LOL
This is just a mediocre proposal for such a great site.
Even Harry's Grand Central would have been better for this site! :bash:
I wasn't saying dead grass is better.
Just want the best for Melbourne. :yes:
As Blabby would say....
MEDIOCRITY SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED!!

hey cant expect EVERY new bldg to be 300m!! lol,
as favco said this is great. at least something is happening on the site.You guys have been spoilt over past cycle with dozens of great TALL bldgs added to the expanding skyline . If you guys are expecting 300m bldgs every new DA your in for a shock.It is ok to get a "stumpy" bldg every now and then! sydney gets em all the time. hehe
538 bourke st isnt that small. its about same size as Adelaides tallest!

^^^ I WANT MORE BUT!

Same size as Adelaide's tallest is pretty good I suppose! Poor Adelaide, I really wish Adelaide gets some talls soon though. Will anything happen on the AMP site does anyone know?

Im pretty sure the 1969 AMP bldg is heritage listed or will be? so it aint going anywhere.

I photoshopped GC into a skyline pic posted by Tays in one of the old E threads.

Before

http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/3113/101636567cl10896815153ak.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

and after

http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/4657/gcinskyline1ks.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Does that look about right Cul?

Sadly Mr C, it isn't heritage listed :(

Im pretty sure the 1969 AMP bldg is heritage listed or will be? so it aint going anywhere.

beautiful archi! well done. should boost that area up abit.
steve- it still isnt heritage listed? must be on the books.

AMP was considered but refused for heritage listing. AMP did not want the building listed and neither did the government at the time :-(

Thank you Mr.C, much appreciated. I might have a go at Milano and Verve next.

grollo- are joking? so it can be demolished now? i mean its no BHP hs but its great 60;s architecture. shame.
its a pretty big block so might host a large bldg one day?
http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/pictures/0/0/1/im/pi001895.jpg

archi- that would be great seeing verev/milano on skyline. the RL is pretty high up there at 20m. the 170m spire reaches 190m above sea lev ,so should impact skyline nicely.

Is there still a MLC building or more to the point the old Weather lights in Melb????????

I know the one in Brisbane is still going on renamed building (Hitachi perhaps)

I found an article today from "The Herald" late 1958 explaining the meanings for each sequence of the lights and the correlation b/w the lights and the expected weather for the next 6 hours.

I can only assume that the lights and their meanings were generic, but there was more to the direction to the flashing that I ever knew. I left it at home, but will retrieve it tomorrow and scan it.

Also an ad for Australian Aluminium stocks/bonds with pictures of 3 old 15-20 story buildings back when that high was massive.

I know it's the wrong thread but you wouldn't happen to have any floorplans Cul & anyone for Verve or Milano or just the outline of them at least? Would make it heaps easier.

Ves Mr C, its very sad that the whole St James Complex could be demolished tomorrow. It should be included on the Victorian Heritage Register ASAP, but unless we get some new information about it, then I don't think it will go on any time soon.

AFR
Melbourne soaking up tenants
Mathew Dunckley
29 September 2005

Finance and information technology companies have proved the thirstiest as Melbourne's white collar businesses soak up record amounts of office space in the central business district.

A sector-by-sector breakdown of Melbourne's office space by Jones Lang LaSalle Research showed that demand increased from almost all industries, with 245,000 square metres of new space occupied in the 18 months to the end of June.

The charge was led by the information technology and telecommunications industry as well as the finance and insurance sector. They expanded their office footprint in the city by almost 100,000 sq m.

Finance and insurance companies leased a total of 110,000 sq m during the 18-month period.

About 80 per cent of the 60,000 sq m leased by the IT and telecommunications industry was new space.

These expansion rates dwarfed those of other typical heavyweight CBD tenants in the construction and manufacturing and legal sectors.

The legal sector was still strong, signing up around 30,000 sq m in office deals in the CBD and lifting its space requirement by around 8000 sq m, or about 27 per cent.

The federal government was the second largest user of office space at 65,000 sq m, expanding its space by about 15,000 sq m.

The construction and manufacturing sectors leased more than 60,000 sq m but expanded their total leased space by only a few thousand square metres.

The space occupied by management and recruitment companies shrank by about 2000 sq m.

JLL Victoria's leasing director, Kevin George, said increased demand for space was the equivalent of three new Rialto buildings.

"What these figures reveal is that business has not only expanded into the new office space but has also moved into the quality existing space," he said.

"This is borne out by the CBD vacancy figures, which have fallen during a period when they were expected to rapidly increase."

JLL Victoria's associate director of research, Nerida Conisbee, said there were pre-commitments for 69 per cent of the 228,000 sq m of new and refurbished office space in the pipeline.

This left little more than 200,000 sq m available for lease over the next year; 132,000 sq m of space under construction was scheduled to complete by the end of this year.

KEY POINTS

* Demand for office space has grown from almost all industries.

* Little more than 200,000 sq m is up for lease over the next year.

__________________

Melbourne is coming into its own.

Well for the love of Kennett, knock AMP down and build a deservingly tall ~250m centrepiece for the CBD!

Blue

meh, Church Place, apart from the height factor, was somewhat forgettable.

knock Prudential down and fill out Queen/Bourke instead.

$0.02

^Will C21 still get built in place of Prudential some day?

The Age
Helen Westerman and Hugh Martin
CAPITAL GAIN

THERE must be some beaming leasing agents out there. This week saw the long-awaited announcement that Insurance Australia Group had accepted Australian Super Development's proposal to get hitched - a massive 27,000-square-metre requirement for the developer.

The lease was negotiated by Colliers International's Simon Hunt for ASD and Laing+Simmons for IAG.

Maybe now the Grand Central gardens, which sit on the corner of the proposed project at Bourke and William streets (right), will finally get a weeding. (:lol: )

Other confirmed deals have included top-tier law firm Minter Ellison, which has decided to stay on at the Rialto tower, yesterday re-signing its lease on its 12,000 square metres for a further four years.

In December, Australia's largest law firm used boutique property and business advisory group the Partners, in conjunction with DTZ International, for the market search.

Doug Cleine of Colliers International negotiated the leasing deal on behalf of owner St Martins.

Still at the Rialto, the American International Group is said to have taken 6000 square metres, or 21/2 floors. It is currently in 549 St Kilda Road.

That takes up the balance of space left by Mallesons when it moved out and means the Rialto is 98 per cent full.

Minter's announcement follows the recent renewal of Maddocks at the Retail Employees Superannuation Trust-owned 140 William Street, which added another floor to take 6000 square metres.

On the move

While some have been raking it in, others have been moving on.

Pat Smith, the director and head of investments for commercial property heavyweight Jones Lang LaSalle International, is the latest to hang up his spurs.

His move follows that of Knight Frank Victorian managing director Philip Soumilas and Savills Victorian managing director Marcus Hanlon.

Mr Smith is set to pursue a career in the property investment and development game, after 14 years serving such clients.

Last year his team completed $4.4 billion in office, retail, industrial and hotel transactions across Australia, according to the company.

Savills' former Victorian state manager of asset management, Dominic Long, is to replace Mr Hanlon, who is taking up the role of head of property at National Australia Bank.

Mr Long originally joined Savills after working for a development company in Ireland.

MAB Corporation has confirmed it nabbed Mr Soumilas from Knight Frank. His successor is tipped to come from inside the Knight Frank fold.

Let's workshop it

It seems a dark horse wearing the colours of Industry Superannuation Property Trust may have ridden in to steal one of the CBD's most hotly contested commercial tenants this week.

Has the telco giant Ericsson Australia finally found a new home at ISPT's Urban Workshop? That's the speculation.

Ericsson's 14,000-square-metre requirement attracted Melbourne's development big guns as the Swede searched for new office space ahead of the March 2007 expiry of its tenancy at the newly spruced Melbourne Central office tower.

The Macquarie Bank and R Corporation joint-venture was hoping to snare Ericsson for its Botanicca Park site in Burnley.

Ian Gandel, the son of billionaire John Gandel, was also seen to be in the hunt with his $90 million campus-style Docklands office complex, 360 Degrees.

Also joining the party was investment banking group Babcock & Brown with office space at its 17.74-hectare Ascot Vale site.

But all have been outdone, according to a source close to the deal, by ISPT, with a 10,000-square-metre offer at its Urban Workshop development.

Both ISPT and Ericsson deny a deal has been done, with a spokeswoman for the company believing any outcome to be six weeks away.

However, our source stands by his information, adding that a rate of $300 a square metre has been agreed.

The deal, if true, is slightly smaller than the original requirement of 14,000 square metres.

In its heyday Ericsson occupied a mighty 16,000 square metres at Melbourne Central before scaling down to its current 8000 square metres following the closure of its research and development division, AsiaPacificLab, in 2002, and various sub-leasings.

Ericsson was said to be looking to centralise its CBD and Broadmeadows staff under the one roof.

It's all about trust

More details are emerging about Grocon's impending launch of an unlisted property trust for the Docklands AXA building, signalling the first time the construction giant has sourced external capital.

A few weeks ago, Grocon joint managing director Daniel Grollo ended speculation by confirming plans were under way to package the office building it will build for AXA into an unlisted property trust.

The vehicle is being structured through National Australia Bank's structured property finance, headed by Arthur Psaltis.

Previously the construction company has been forced to sell its assets to enter into its next deal.

"That's always been a limiting factor for us, where we've been selling assets perhaps not at their optimum time, because we're gearing for the next one," Mr Grollo (right) said.

"This offers an opportunity to use our capital very efficiently over a number of projects." Investment criteria has not yet been set as the prospectus is still being finalised, but it is believed it will offer a 7.5 per cent yield to investors during the construction period, removing construction risk.

The Grollo family is expected to hold about a 17 per cent share, with development profits reinvested into the vehicle.

However, when questioned about whether this would be the approach taken to other assets, Mr Grollo ruled it out for QV in the short term, saying the structure of the development was too complex.

But the model may well be used for future Grocon projects.

Conference win

Melbourne will host the next World Sustainable Buildings Conference in 2008.

Environment Minister John Thwaites says the conference is the pre-eminent event on sustainable buildings in the world.

Up to 3000 international delegates will visit and it could generate up to $9 million for the Victorian economy he says.

Camping out

Perth-based caravan park specialist the Aspen Group has announced a $40 million capital raising that will help add two further Victorian properties to its funds portfolios.

The capital raising will be applied to reduce debt, taking its gearing to 44 per cent, and support acquisitions by its funds, Aspen Parks Property fund and Aspen Diversified Property Fund.

The Aspen Parks property fund will spend $25.1 million buying four parks, including the Yarraby holiday and tourist park in Echuca for $9 million, two parks in NSW and a 50 per cent share in the Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort in Western Australia.

It's diversified fund is aiming to secure an industrial complex in Moorabbin for $17.45 million.

Aspen already owns an industrial complex in Noble Park on Browns Road and the office building, 564 St Kilda Road, which it bought in November for $25 million.

capitalgain@theage.com.au

GRAND CENTRAL WASTE

What a dissappointing result for the last real super site in the city.
They could have made a real impact on the skyline with something spectacular on the site and the simple fact is that there has not been a quality commercial tower built in Melbourne since the 80's ( rialto, 101 collins, bhp etc)
Ernst and Young plaza has been a waste of time and has destroyed the magnificence of The HWT building with this ugly blue block above it. Same goes with the SX site. Stumpy blocky ugly buildings with no soul whatsoever.
The only good thing we have gotten is Big E and even that was at the expense of Grollo tower so you can see my frustration.

^^^ Eureka had nothing to do with the Grollo tower not going ahead, get your facts straight. Additionally, there are still numerous sites just as ripe for development, particularly in the northern half of the CBD. A 100m+ tower is nothing to sniff at, with all the development at southbank, docklands and so on it is remarkable we are getting towers of any size built in the CBD at present. Plus, its a bonus for density.

What's with the virtual double post in Grand central thread?

Stu

yeah, we would all probably like to see a supertall in melbourne :)

something central something world-class awe inspiring some monument to the technical prowess of man/society...

i don't see it happening for a while in melbourne, although theres this natural tendancy to build bigger/better and the huge building boom we're still in atm it all seems to be concentrated on residential / medium sized developments. (with a few exceptions of coarse)

^^^ Eureka had nothing to do with the Grollo tower not going ahead, get your facts straight.
AFAIK Eureka went ahead because there was so much interest in the apartment section of Grollo tower. Once grollo was cancelled they seperated the apartment section into its own building. Well this is how I understand what happened.

yeah, would have loved to have the gollo tower built, if for no other reason than to have some world-wide recognised landmark. (plus the concept art i saw for it looked beautiful)

i wonder if grollo will ever revisit the idea?

would have been mind-blowing :)

http://www.thecollectormm.com/private/GrolloTower3.jpg

I wouldn't go by that render, it's overscaled. The real thing would have been a little over double Rialto's height. In that render it looks almost 1km high. I'm glad it never went ahead as that probably would have meant no Eureka, which is by far a superior design to Grollo Tower.

if grollo had gone ahead i'm sure the design would have been made equal (if not superior) to eureka's....

AFAIK Eureka went ahead because there was so much interest in the apartment section of Grollo tower. Once grollo was cancelled they seperated the apartment section into its own building. Well this is how I understand what happened.

Yep, that is in part correct. Roughly from memory, the main reason Grollo was cancelled was due to a dispute over some preliminary payment, which then became overdue and planning cancelled. Eureka, at the least, was conceived after Grollo was cancelled and had nothing to do with that ;)

Stu

what are the chances of the idea bein revisted in some form?

I wouldn't go by that render, it's overscaled. The real thing would have been a little over double Rialto's height. In that render it looks almost 1km high. I'm glad it never went ahead as that probably would have meant no Eureka, which is by far a superior design to Grollo Tower.

Looks like they scaled it relative to 101 Collins. Which is obviously very silly since it's site is all the way in the Docklands, where a much less impressive development is underway.

I'm think (not really sure) Eureka was first proposed in its 300m form before the Grollo Tower was cancelled though. Totally separate proposals, basic economics tells us that demand has to be fulfilled somewhere.

We'd all wish they'd bring it back though - maybe a redesigned version on one of the big sites? Let's all dream.... but it would be a nice touch for the Grollos to build something huge in their home city.

i really hope so. i mean we have heaps of great buildings, but most cities have one really great structure.....

you guys probably already know this but i didn't (was looking around google cache): http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:HjOaw_QAXlwJ:www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/26/1046064104215.html+grollo+tower+burj+dubai&hl=en

what are the chances of the idea bein revisted in some form?

About zero at this point. Although with Eureka tower and the MCG redevelopment coming to a close Grollo may be looking for a big project ;)

Stu

Yeah but like they have always done before they'll pull something big out of nowhere.

gotta love the eccentricity of it all :)

AFR
Fairfax looks at Docklands
Mathew Dunckley
10 October 2005

Melbourne's central business district is being tugged ever westwards and newspaper publisher John Fairfax is the latest major company to seek a home in Docklands.

Fairfax is understood to have taken an option on an area at the south-west corner of Spencer and Collins streets known as Site 7 as a new headquarters for its flagship Melbourne newspaper The Age.

The Australian Financial Review has been told Fairfax wants a 15,000 square metre office at the site, which is owned by the Docklands management authority, VicUrban.

A source close to negotiations said Fairfax, which owns The Australian Financial Review, had appointed architects Bates Smart to design the building.

The source said the company was expected to go to the market for a construction firm or developer to deliver its new home "within weeks".

The area from the CBD's traditional western boundary of Spencer Street and into the Docklands basin has been the site of growing development interest in recent times.

NAB was one of the pioneers with its new headquarters right in the heart of Docklands, spitting distance from Channel Seven's home at Telstra Dome.

Grocon is building Axa's new Asia-Pacific regional headquarters in the precinct and the Australian Customs Service will take 10,000 sq m in the northern end, at Digital Harbour.

Civic Nexus is actively seeking an anchor tenant for 70,000 sq m over two buildings overlooking Docklands at Spencer Street station.

A spokesman for Fairfax would not comment on any of the details presented by the AFR.

"The company is exploring a lot of options," he said.

"The company is in the process of assessing the marketplace."

Fairfax's key aim, he said, was "to determine the best way to improve the accommodation for our staff".

No decision had been made and any "definitive" decision would be announced in due course, he said.

Bates Smart declined to comment.

Industry sources said there would be no shortage of development companies keen to build a new home for The Age not least if it offered an opportunity to develop its current premises at 250 Spencer Street.

Colliers International's head of commercial leasing in Victoria, Andrew Tracey, said The Age's current premises were "extraordinary" and among the best development sites in the city.

"It is one of the few sites that is a true 'island site' with access from four sides," he said.

"There are no issues with it."

Another well-placed source said that although Site 7, which abuts the All Seasons Grand Hotel, appeared relatively small compared with The Age's current home, it could accommodate a significant building.

"If you compare it to 700 Collins Street [also in Docklands], it is pretty similar and the net lettable area is pretty large," the source said.

Does that mean Elenberg Fraser's design is now obsolete?

Sounds like it.

Although I generally don't like Campus Style development I think this would be a fantastic move the The Age as:

-The sites on either side of Collins Street must be developed as they are very important to the seamless intergration of Docklands and the CBD.

- It would free up the entire Age site as a MEGA development site with no restrictions and none of the hassles of the Power Station site across the road. A huge rectangular, island site across the road from Southern Cross Station with no heritage buildings, no planning restrictions and no asbestos... :drool: :drool: :drool:

The next battle for Australia's tallest building will be between the developers of the Age site and the developers of the Power Station site, bring it on!

I have a feeling Grocon is planning something big and through their ties with the mob have forced The Age to move what with Eureka and the McG nearing completion, sure there's AXA but they always like to build big. *Awaits exclusive on 7 news @ 6* :D

i don't know, i think it will be a while before we see plans for an Australian tower bigger than the Eureka :)

although whatever happens, my prediction is that melbourne will have the tallest towers in oz, it's become kind of a thing for melbourne and i don't think we want to give it up :)

wow, must be the 4th large office proposal to revert to campus style instead of a tall office bldg in the cBD.thats a few big bldgs melb misses out on. Sydney has the same version. large firms now have no sites in CBd, so there going elsewhere like Parramatta or noth sy ect.

Yeah, but at least Docklands have given these companies a chance to go campus style but stay in the CBD. Think of the office towers you could build in the Sydney CBD if all those companies out in North Ryde moved back to the CBD :-)

ties with mob????????
What drugs are you on AB???????

i think he means because theyre italian and in the business....... you know, naturally you assume they have ties to the mob... :)

Yeah, but at least Docklands have given these companies a chance to go campus style but stay in the CBD. Think of the office towers you could build in the Sydney CBD if all those companies out in North Ryde moved back to the CBD :-)

bingo.

apples & oranges.

back to the topic at hand: who's going to be keeping an eye on DSE then? :guns1:

Twas a joke Fav, but you never know ;). I'd love to tell you the name of the drugs but Major League baseball won't let me.

TOPIC

Will the National Bank build a Super Scraper for its World Headquarters ! :)
PROPERTY

back PRINT-FRIENDLY VERSION EMAIL THIS STORY


NAB restructure rules out a river-bank
Maurice Dunlevy
October 19, 2005
THE restructured National Australia Bank has all but ruled out plans to move its global headquarters to the Melbourne Docklands.

The NAB has allowed an exclusive option on land at Lend Lease's $2 billion Victoria Harbour Precinct to lapse, fuelling speculation that the bank will anchor Melbourne CBD's next new-generation office tower.

A NAB spokeswoman said yesterday that the bank, despite surrendering the option, was still interested in the site.

But Lend Lease is understood to have other potential takers for the property, which is right behind NAB's GPT-owned 60,000sqm, two-building, campus-style complex completed a year ago.

Lend Lease would not comment yesterday, but is understood to be talking to parties about a pre-lease deal likely to involve Bovis Lend Lease as the builder.









Interest in commercial space at the Docklands is at a high, with AXA the latest in a growing list to commit to the waterfront precinct.

That project, on the Collins St Docklands extension, will indirectly involve the NAB, which will partner the Grollos in the establishment of an unlisted trust that will hold the campus-style building.

The NAB spokeswoman confirmed the bank was considering a number of options for its global head office, which is currently located at the Industry Superannuation Property Trust-owned 500 Bourke St.

The bank must decide soon, because its lease on most of the 36,000sqm, 1970s B-grade building expires in about three years.

Security reasons, according to one CBD leasing agent, are probably behind the NAB's decision not to centralise almost its entire Australian administration in one Docklands location. "That (centralising) would normally make sense, but won't happen for the NAB, or any other bank, in the current climate," he said.

NAB chief executive officer John Stewart is understood to have been enthusiastic about moving the bulk of the bank's Melbourne global headquarters operations to the Docklands.

But that was also before a business revamp in which the bank has so far cut 1000 Australian jobs.

NAB's option involved a 3500sqm site located between the bank's current Docklands complex and Lend Lease's Dock Five apartment tower, which will be completed in early 2007. The option was negotiated with Lend Lease several years ago during the construction of the two campus-style buildings, which accommodate the bank's Australian business.

Meantime, NAB is understood to be looking at more space at 120 Spencer St, where it already occupies 11 floors of the Spiros Stamoulis-owned building.

Around 16,000sqm will soon become available in the building.

It's state government tenants are heading to ISPT's new Urban Workshop building at 50 Lonsdale St, and defence company Tenix is moving to another Stamoulis CBD building at 277 William St.





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:)

Wow, great scoop! :okay:

anchor Melbourne CBD's next new-generation office tower. 36,000sqm. :drool:

I think NAB will have difficulty in moving into a building where there are no naming rights on top for any signage. 120 & 101 Collins St do not have any naming rights on the top. I woudl find it very hard to believe that a major company such as the NAB moving into a new bulding and not having its logo there for all the world to see.

I hope NAB move into a new tower, possibly at La Trobe St behind Concept Blue! (see below)

CBD site sells at 50% discount (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/07/1094530606577.html)
By Helen Westerman
The Age (www.theage.com.au)
8 September 2004

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/07/latrobe_wideweb__430x277.jpg
Drapac Property paid less than half the $23.3 million achieved when this 6000 square metre parcel last sold in 1989.
Picture:Gary Medlicott

A $15 million office tower sale in regional Victoria and the purchase of a rare city development site this week has lifted some of the gloom over a sales-starved market.

In a counter-cyclical move, Melbourne developer Drapac Property bought a 6000 square metre parcel of land in the eastern part of Melbourne's CBD for $11.5 million - less than half the $23.3 million paid in 1989 by previous owner, Hualon Development, a company controlled by Taiwanese investor Andrew Oung and Melbourne investor, Rowan Kennedy.

The site includes three lower grade office buildings at 52-64 Latrobe Street, with two car parks facing Carlton on Mackenize Street.

The site has been problematic for Hualon, with several redevelopment plans failing to go ahead. It bought the site with existing approval for a 20-storey office tower with 115 car spaces. New plans in 1999 for a 17-level tower on part of the site were shelved a year later after objections to the proposal, according to property database Cityscope.

Drapac Property director Ashley Wain said the site ensured the group was well positioned in the eastern part of the CBD.

He said the three older style offices would be refurbished to take advantage of what the group believed was a strong owner occupier market in the area.

The remainder of the site, including the car parks, would operate until "more favourable conditions" prevailed, Mr Wain said.

The Mackenzie Street purchase has taken the developer's CBD and fringe acquisitions to $42.9 million in the past 12 months.

moving back to Collins St is always an option especially with the portfolio site.

a bit on the sentimental side, but nevertheless, it';s a site with lots of potential for a big tenant like NAB.

interesting that NAB only regard Docklands as primarily back-office and not the glitzy-glam HQ that many of us have been lead to believe eh.

anyone know where NAB's HQ was pre-NAB House on Bourke Street?

Commercial rents in Melbourne on the rise
Mathew Dunckley
20 October 2005

Melbourne's commercial property market is on the cusp of a two-year "boom" that will cause incentives to disappear, rents to rise and capital values to soar 68 per cent, BIS Shrapnel chief economist Frank Gelber says.

Dr Gelber told an Australian Property Institute conference in Melbourne that the city's developers had overreacted to fear of oversupply and held back from providing new space.

"Our forecasts show solid employment growth for another two years, which should feed through to net absorption and readily absorb those buildings currently under construction," he said.

"As vacancy rates fall, leasing incentives will be scaled back, then face rents will rise and effective rents rise markedly.

"We also anticipate a firming of yields and, consequently, rapid escalation of capital values. The upswing has about another 2 1/2 years to run."

He predicted that net effective rents for commercial property would rise 82 per cent by the end of 2007.

Despite the growth in rents, higher capital values would still drag yields to 6.2 per cent over the same period, he said. The rest of the country would not miss out; net effective rental growth was also expected in Sydney (47 per cent), Brisbane (43 per cent) and Perth (60 per cent).

Jones Lang LaSalle valuer Gary Longden agreed that rising rentals and capital values and falling yields would feature in Melbourne's prime office market but not necessarily to levels that Dr Gelber predicted across the wider market.

Mr Longden said Melbourne's CBD was coming out of a rental slump with continued rental growth. Capital values in the CBD were expected to grow by 17 per cent by the end of 2007 while yields would fall to 7 per cent, he said.

He said higher vacancies would come as construction slowed and investors backed the market recovery due in 2008.

Yields would not edge upwards again until 2008-2009, he said.

"Tenant demand is rising, the economy remains strong, investor sentiment is turning around and rents are showing signs of growth again," he said. Prime rents were rising as vacancies fell and this would have a positive impact on capital values.

.....

anyone know where NAB's HQ was pre-NAB House on Bourke Street?

It used to be at 271 Collins Street, opposite the Block Arcade. They recently sold the property.

^ ta for that.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/boulevard-returns-to-health/2005/10/25/1130237354255.html

Boulevard returns to health

By Hugh Martin
October 26, 2005

THE fortunes of Melbourne's office building boulevard, St Kilda Road, are beginning to improve on the back of a bullish CBD and suburban leasing market.

Research from commercial real estate agency Savills found the vacancy rate for the market had dropped from 13.2 per cent a year ago to 9.9 per cent last month, with the take-up of office space (net absorption) for the year being 21,505 square metres.

Savills research associate Marc Pallisco said the result was particularly healthy when compared with its NSW equivalent, North Sydney, which had a 13,757-sq-m increase in vacant office space.

Savills sales and investments director Anthony Wilson said the fortunes of St Kilda Road had risen on the improving sentiment of office markets in the CBD, Southbank and the suburbs.

"The leasing market has had strong absorption levels in the CBD and there is strong rental growth in the suburban market. All of these things have had a flow-on effect to the St Kilda Road market," Mr Wilson said.

The research found that the St Kilda Road office precinct was one of Australia's largest non-CBD office markets and, at 765,942 sq m, was second only to North Sydney, at 788,459 sq m.

It found that St Kilda Road's occupancy peaked in 2001, when just 31,533 sq m (representing 4.3 per cent) of stock was available for lease.

In the year preceding, effective rents had grown by 15 per cent, Mr Pallisco said. However, a combination of the dotcom bust and September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 sent sentiment for St Kilda Road plummeting.

Silently supporting St Kilda Road's return to strength, Mr Wilson said, was the withdrawal of ageing C-grade and D-grade buildings as owners sought to convert the unlettable buildings into apartments.

Also helping the market's profile, he said, was the refurbishment of buildings such as the Challenger-owned 417 St Kilda Road, which tenants with requirements of about 5000 sq m were looking at. Tabcorp, Spotless Group and AGL have shown interest in leasing space in the building, which is one of the largest leasing deals outside the CBD.

However, Mr Pallisco said the profile of tenants in St Kilda Road was changing. Where once single-floor and multiple-floor lettings were common, the trend had been for part-floor lettings, but at higher rental rates of up to $250 per sq m net, he said.

Today, incentive levels sat around 10 per cent to 15 per cent for single-floor lettings. Higher incentives of 20 per cent to 25 per cent were available for multiple-floor lettings, he said.

The research found that the reduction of incentive levels in the CBD would positively affect the St Kilda Road market.

Until recently, high incentives had made the CBD an attractive option for existing and potential tenants, Mr Pallisco said. By comparison, suburban rental and incentive levels were still in the range of 5 to 10 per cent, often on a higher net face rent.

The highest vacancies on the strip were found to be in A-grade buildings, at 16.1 per cent, which contributed to more than half St Kilda Road's overall vacancy rate, the research found.

It was little wonder incentives were still in the range of 20- 25 per cent for multiple-level stock, and 10-15 per cent for single-level stock, Mr Pallisco said.

Almost all of DOI have moved out of 8o Collins St into the old National Mutual Building on the corner of Nicholson St & Victoria Pde.

I stumbled across this 55 page pdf entitled Melbourne CBD Property Market Prospectus (http://www.businessmelbourne.com.au/docs/active/doc1086.pdf) by Charter Keck Cramer. Don't know if anyone's already seen it. If so sorry.

Reckon this will be run out of 385 Bourke Street?

http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/melbourne-is-future-funds-hq/2005/11/07/1131212005863.html

Melbourne is Future Fund's HQ

By Jason Koutsoukis, Political Correspondent, Canberra
November 8, 2005

IN A coup for Victoria, the Federal Government's $140 billion Future Fund will be based in Melbourne.

The Future Fund, which will be chaired by former Commonwealth Bank chief executive David Murray, will be used to help Australia meet future infrastructure and development challenges. But in a slap in the face to Sydney, Treasurer Peter Costello has won Government approval to locate the Future Fund headquarters in Melbourne.

Contributions to the fund will come from the proceeds of the full sale of Telstra, and federal budget surpluses. It will be run by a board of guardians.

Mr Costello said yesterday he expected legislation to establish the fund would clear Parliament later this year, and most of the money in the Future Fund would be invested in Australian-based assets. "You can get broad exposure in Australia, which is why I would think the bulk of it — but we wouldn't be stipulating that all of it — would be invested in Australia," Mr Costello told Sky News.

"The idea is that it won't take control of companies, it will be an investor in the way that superannuation funds are investors."

Mr Costello said the board members for the Future Fund would be announced in coming weeks. "They are the guardians of the public who will have to guard this investment over a long period of time," he said.

"It is conceivable you could get a Labor government in the future and they would have to guard the fund against a Labor government's attempt to try and get the money and waste it."

ALP treasury spokesman Wayne Swan said the fund's board would have to be alert to pressure from the National Party. "We can't have the Future Fund being plundered by the National Party as they've plundered the budget for years," Mr Swan said. "It has to be a locked box."

_____________

I don't know why it's a slap in the face to Sydney, Melbourne is more of a global funds management hub than Sydney anyhow.

Melbourne is already the heaquarters of the largest super funds in the country, with their billions of dollars of funds to invest in Australia.

This is a fact that people often forget when they talk about all the overseas financial services companies that locate their branch offices in Sydney. Just as much of the real financial muscle in the economy is located in Melbourne as it is in Sydney.

Government tenants like the top end of town and I don't think they will need a huge amount of space so I am tipping SX2.

The thing I'm interested in is how the size of a fund correlates with the floorspace the trustee needs for its employees to manage it!

For instance, costello talks about $140billion - surely they're going to need an army of accountants, economists, traders, IS professionals and what not to play around the country's money?

Looks like 500 LaTrobe Street is up for sale. Anyone know what's happening with that site? I've seen those buildings Bruce Henderson designed for the site but haven't heard anything.

Interesting read in the Capital Gains section of The Age. Pan Urban are behind a $45 million redevelopment of the northern half of Railgoods shed 2 (not the Village Docklands one). They're looking to convert it into offices with a 3 storey building at the Collins Street end. Had a nice little render.

An application has been submitted to add two floors to either the AMP building or surround St. James bulding at 535 Bourke Street and to Refurbish and extend plaza level of the existing building.

I really hope they really consider the heritage value of these buildings even though they are not on the heritage register.

^^Damn, they better not ruin these buildings.
AMP and St James are amongst the best examples of modernism in Melbourne.

http://www.thecollectormm.com/gallery/photography/City/slides/William4.jpg
St James Building above and below.
http://www.thecollectormm.com/gallery/photography/City/slides/BourkeWest3.jpg

Leave them intact!! :rant:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/rents-rise-as-space-shortage-triggers-construction/2005/11/22/1132421666264.html

Rents rise as space shortage triggers construction

By Cameron Houston
November 23, 2005

MELBOURNE'S metropolitan office market has been given a clean bill of health and forecast rental increases are expected to trigger a wave of new construction in 2006.

Office vacancy rates below 6 per cent are expected to continue and will contribute to a 10 per cent rise in rents over the next year, according to the Melbourne Metropolitan Market Indicators Report from Colliers International.

The report released yesterday also found that rising demand for investment stock, combined with a shortage of supply, had underpinned strong capital growth, with city-fringe office space selling for more than $4200 a square metre.

The rezoning of industrial land in the outer-eastern suburbs will boost values by more than 10 per cent, while the completion of EastLink will lead to price increases in the south-east of up to 20 per cent, according to the report.

Yields have been forced as low as 6.5 per cent — and face further downward pressure if interest rates remain stable.

Rob Joyes, Colliers International's suburban office chief executive, says strong white-collar employment, a flight to quality space and the expansion of several companies will drive construction activity next year. "The larger end of town seems to be moving and the activity is concentrated in that market for 3000 to 6000 square metres of office space," he said. "There's a lot of competition between developers like Australand, Macquarie Goodman and Leighton, and tenants can still make some reasonable deals."

Mr Joyes says there is 46,000 sq m of new supply in the construction pipeline, with 40 per cent pre-committed. He is confident the surge in office development will be absorbed by underlying demand and will not lead to a spike in vacancy rates.

According to the report, there were 17 office sales in metropolitan Melbourne valued at more than $5 million in 2005, down substantially on previous years.

An application has been submitted to add two floors to either the AMP building or surround St. James bulding at 535 Bourke Street and to Refurbish and extend plaza level of the existing building.

I really hope they really consider the heritage value of these buildings even though they are not on the heritage register.

Grollos adjoin the Melbourne Club
CBD
Maurice Dunlevy
November 08, 2005
THE Grollo family have struck a long-term deal with the establishment Melbourne Club to redevelop a Little Collins Street building behind the club into offices and shops.

The family's Grocon Group has taken a 20-year head lease over the Melbourne Club-owned building, located behind its stately 36 Collins Street premises.

The lease deal means the Melbourne Club will retain control of the 57-61 Little Collins Street building, which it purchased seven years ago for only $3 million.

The Grollos have already found a tenant to occupy the entire office component of the mostly three-level 3000sqm building, which has a two-storey extension to the rear, by signing design firm Hassell to a long-term lease.

Hassell, currently tenants at Investa's nearby 120 Collins Street tower, are architects for the redevelopment, which should be completed by April next year.









A spokesman said yesterday the design firm would occupy about 1400sqm on the first and second floors, which would be revitalised to create contemporary studio-style offices.

Hassell intend to vacate the 120 Collins Street building when their lease expires next year.

A Grocon spokesman said yesterday the facade and shell of the building would be retained, with a retail area, consisting of between five and seven shops, to be created at ground level.

The spokesman said Grocon had been "overwhelmed" by demand for retail space in the development.

Melbourne Club officials could not be contacted yesterday, but it is well known in CBD property circles that the elite club had been looking for some time to redevelop the building, which has been dormant for the past decade.

The building has a colourful past, being previously owned by the commonwealth government which transferred it to the former Telecom in 1986.

Two years later it sold to Fidelity Investments, a subsidiary of Trust Co of Australia, for $8.25 million to become part of a site amalgamation of adjoining properties that was eventually on-sold in 1989 for $56 million, on a deposit of $8.5 million.

But despite the settlement date being extended on three occasions, the buyer did not settle.

The Melbourne Club sought planning approval in 1999 to demolish its building and replace it with a seven-storey structure, but withdrew the application the following year.

In June this year it received approval for additions, and to change the use to office and retail.

Under that approval, the present site area of 1028sqm can be increased to 1471sqm with the addition of part of the main Melbourne Club site, which has frontages to Collins and Little Collins streets. :)





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No, the Melbourne Club is at the eastenr end of Collins St whilst AMP is at the other end.

^^Damn, they better not ruin these buildings.
AMP and St James are amongst the best examples of modernism in Melbourne.

http://www.thecollectormm.com/gallery/photography/City/slides/William4.jpg
St James Building above and below.
http://www.thecollectormm.com/gallery/photography/City/slides/BourkeWest3.jpg

Leave them intact!! :rant:

agree. They are an important part of an important tower in Melbourne. Hope the National Trust acts on this.

Guys, the following link is the latest Colliers market report on metro Melbourne office activity, it's a 10 page pdf file which is EXCELLENT! Lots of info ! :)

http://www.colliers.com/Content/Repositories/Base/Markets/Australia/English/Market_Report/PDFs/MelbourneMetroSummer06.pdf

Concept come Proposal ,for Melbourne by Gray Puksand Architects

http://www.graypuksand.com.au/images/ruby_tower.jpg :)

Rejected (or withdrawn?) - commonly known as 'The Prudential Site', SE corner of Queen & Bourke Streets.

would have been nice and completely supercharged that block with 385B already standing and the 368 Little Collins proposal diagonally opposite (on Little Collins St). Pity though, the recent leasing deals have shown there's still a lot of steam in the market and it might have scored a tenant. I'd take this over the Grand Central site's scheme (which now has a tenant and is going ahead).

Was supposed to have some cool louvres on the western facade - a real 'sustainable' tower (or so it was touted).

You never know it could make a comeback. Or at least I like to believe it will.

Rejected (or withdrawn?) - commonly known as 'The Prudential Site', SE corner of Queen & Bourke Streets.

would have been nice and completely supercharged that block with 385B already standing and the 368 Little Collins proposal diagonally opposite (on Little Collins St). Pity though, the recent leasing deals have shown there's still a lot of steam in the market and it might have scored a tenant. I'd take this over the Grand Central site's scheme (which now has a tenant and is going ahead).

Was supposed to have some cool louvres on the western facade - a real 'sustainable' tower (or so it was touted).

Yeah , would make a nice comeback ! :cheers:

Here's a rumour for you: major commercial tenant considers a site for an unbuilt tower (completion around 2008) at an address in the 500s of Bourke St (probably Grand Central?).

It has been confirmed that IAG will moving into the new grand central tower, there was talk of a second tower but I don't think it would be very tall.

Maybe the old 60 storey+ AMP proposal across the road??

freehills moving to bourke street blabby?

the concept that came closest to reality for the prudential site
http://silvermb.thehoddlegrid.net/prudcon.jpg

I like that podium.

those two buildings on the left of that render (NE corner) could make a nice slender tower one day too.

I've got this Herald Sun snippet from a few years back, anyone know what happened to this proposal whether it's going ahead or been scrapped?

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/1347/tvbuilding3no.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

It's dead. Same as most of the other docklands sites if they get a tenant they will go ahead with a building but I think it would be a new design.

Dudes - page 54 of todays ( Thurs ) Financial Review talks about the Vic Police looking for 55,000 sqm of office space in the cbd by mid 2006. Currently they have 38,000 sqm in the World Trade centre and 10,000 sqm in Casselden Pl.
Optus is also looking for 25,000sqm, Erricsson 15,600 sqm amongst others.

Dudes - page 54 of todays ( Thurs ) Financial Review talks about the Vic Police looking for 55,000 sqm of office space in the cbd by mid 2006. Currently they have 38,000 sqm in the World Trade centre and 10,000 sqm in Casselden Pl.
Optus is also looking for 25,000sqm, Erricsson 15,600 sqm amongst others.Here is the complete scanned article form yesterday's Fin Rev:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/510/379MelbCBDoffice2.JPG

ANZ plans big changes in Melbourne
December 2, 2005 - 10:06AM
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/anz-plans-big-changes-in-melbourne/2005/12/02/1133422080118.html

[i]ANZ Banking Group Ltd is looking to developers and investors to find new Sydney and Melbourne offices.

The bank today said it plans to undertake a major refurbishment of its Melbourne headquarters at 100 Queen St, to centralise most of its other Melbourne sites into a new 80,000 square metre campus by 2009 and to find an alternative office to its current Sydney headquarters at Martin Place.

But ANZ will keep its relatively new Melbourne property, 75 Dorcas St.

"We are seeking expressions of interest from developers and investors for a new Melbourne campus and Sydney location," ANZ Head of Property Jane Hamilton said.

"Any decision on proceeding is subject to finding the right location and satisfying ourselves on the project economics."

Ms Hamilton said the move would also depend on the infrastructure and support offered by the Victorian government and City of Melbourne, including efficient road transport connections between the bank's main buildings.

ANZ expects to make a decision on the new buildings in the first half of 2006.

Shit!!! 80,000 square metres is a Rialto sized office tower :-(

Die campus, DIE!

I think it is now a mtter of which Docklands precinct they will locate to. If they locate to the suburbs they should be shot.

I would always rather a 200m+ tower (if you don't please leave this forum now :-) but if they do go to Docklands it will make it the hottest business location In Australia and give a boost to the associated apartment and hotel proposals down there.

Hopefully this will mean the death of the hideous ANZ building on Toorak Road, South Yarra and it's replacement with a 20 storey tower :-)

^^
Well that's dissapointing..

They may in fact, decide to locate in South Yarra. There are a number of developers waiting for the market to improve, and they may offer ANZ a number of sites in and around South Yarra.

lets all go to dicklands and plackard! say no to campus! lets go highrise!
yes we all love tall bldgs, its hard when campus or lowrise is chosen instead of highrise.
sad day.

That's funny and sad at the same time. A mate quit NAB to get away from the campus building and now works at ANZ. :D It's sad because it could've been a big mother. :(

But wasn't the whole point of the NAB campus was to provide a better working environment than in a skyscraper?

....f@#k! what is it with melbourne and campus styled offices?!?!?! No words can describe how pissed I get when I hear of campus styled offices being used house corporate giants such as ANZ...... what a waste in every sense of the word. i really wonder about this city sometimes....

Ms Hamilton said the move would also depend on the infrastructure and support offered by the Victorian government and City of Melbourne, including efficient road transport connections between the bank's main buildings.

Well that actually seems to rule out any location not in the city of Melbourne.

I could see the state government offering ANZ some substantial incentives to locate to Dandenong, that would really give Dandenong a massive boost. I don't think it would be unrealistic because the HQ would still remain at 100 Queen Street.

or Frankston!

Sydney

Sydney

ANZ is just using its economic muscle to scare the shit out of Bracks and the City Council to get want they want LOL ! :)

ANZ hints at move
Bruce Brammall
03dec05

ANZ Bank, one of the nation's largest companies, yesterday threatened to quit Melbourne and relocate its headquarters to Sydney.

ANZ said a move north was a serious option if it could not find suitable solutions to several property dilemmas in Victoria.
The bank wants to consolidate its 10 Melbourne properties. It also wants to move out of its Martin Place, Sydney, property.

If it can't find a suitable campus-style site in Melbourne, it would consider a move interstate.

A move would cost Victoria between 3000 and 4000 jobs.









The chance of a move interstate has been exacerbated by an ongoing feud over the transport and construction policies of the Melbourne City Council.

Bank sources said constant road closures without notice and a refusal to negotiate sensible transport solutions in the city had caused a deep level of frustration for the bank.

"Some of our offices have been surrounded by construction work for the last four to five months, with water-filled bollards everywhere, and they are causing major issues for our (staff and customers) getting places," a source told BusinessDaily.

Another of ANZ's frustrations with the Melbourne City Council has been over its refusal to negotiate a sensible solution over a long-running problem with moving its staff between tenanted sites.

ANZ has been using shuttle buses to get staff between its Collins St properties and Dorcas St in South Melbourne.

But ANZ has not been able to stop its mini-buses near its offices because of traffic management issues.

"There is a perception that the city is run for building workers, not the actual tenants and businesses that exist in the city."

Melbourne City Council Lord Mayor John So told BusinessDaily would do whatever it takes to make sure ANZ stayed Melbourne-based.

Cr So said the construction issues that ANZ -- along with many other CBD businesses -- were facing were largely related to work in preparation for the Commonwealth Games.

"I can understand the frustration of some of the people in Melbourne who have been enduring a lot of work in the city," he said.

"It (the Games) is only 100 days away and there is a last minute rush to get the work done."

Cr So said it was exciting news that ANZ wanted to build an 80,000 square metre base in Melbourne and was adamant it would be here.

"The City of Melbourne and the State Government will be working very closely with ANZ to work through establishing its new campus in Melbourne," Cr So said.

A move to Sydney by ANZ would be a major blow to Melbourne's reputation.

Of Australia's top 10 listed companies, Melbourne is the headquarters of four -- BHP Billiton, National Australia Bank, ANZ and Telstra.

But Telstra, under new chief Sol Trujillo and his imported American executives, is increasingly seeing its major decisions made in Sydney.

ANZ would not contemplate a move to Sydney lightly, given its historical ties and the wishes of senior management.

"But if the options in Melbourne aren't rational, then we'll have to consider our position," the source said.

The 30,000-employee strong ANZ yesterday outlined a major property review of its Sydney and Melbourne holdings and tenancies.

This includes a redevelopment of its 100 Queen St headquarters, retaining its new 75 Dorcas St, South Melbourne, premises and to seek a move out of its NSW headquarters in Martin Place, Sydney.

The bank is seeking expressions of interest from developers and investors for an 80,000 square metre centre. Preferred sites are Docklands, South Melbourne or West Melbourne.

The leases on many of ANZ's 10 city sites expire over the period that would be needed for construction.

"In the unlikely event that an acceptable Melbourne campus is not found, ANZ will then consider alternative locations."

ANZ's shares yesterday closed 30 cents stronger at $23.81.

The writer owns ANZ Bank shares. :)

Hopefully something nice for docklands.

And hopefully if they have to do their headquarters 'campus-style' that they make sure it is a good design.

Ericsson ties up at Victoria Harbour

By Cameron Houston
December 7, 2005
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/ericsson-ties-up-at-victoria-harbour/2005/12/06/1133829595261.html

TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant Ericsson Australia is expected to join the flood of tenants relocating to the Docklands and is close to signing a 12,000 square metre pre-commitment deal for its new headquarters at Lend Lease's Victoria Harbour.

The site behind National Australia Bank's campus-style complex is believed to be the location after NAB declined to exercise an exclusive option on the property two months ago. The deal would involve Bovis Lend Lease as the builder.

The decision would be a substantial blow for Industry Superannuation Property Trust, which until recently had been favoured to snare Ericsson for its Urban Workshop development in Casselden Place.

Ericsson is understood to be keen to finalise a pre-commitment deal before Christmas with its existing lease in the Melbourne Central office tower due to expire in March 2007.

Ericsson's general manager of information technology and facilities management, Paul Copeland, said the decision had not been made, but conceded the ISPT site was no longer in contention.

"We're working pretty hard to secure a deal, but we're not quite there yet," Mr Copeland said.

Jones Lang LaSalle is believed to be handling the deal, but its leasing director, Kevin George, declined to comment.

Ericsson had placed a brief to the market more than 18 months ago and had hoped to secure a site before the end of the current construction cycle.

Several major developers had courted the Swedish-based telco, but failed to reach the shortlist stage.

A joint venture between R Corporation and Macquarie Bank had hoped to sign it as an anchor tenant for the Botanicca Park site in Burnley, while investment bank Babcock & Brown had pitched its 17 hectare office development in Ascot Vale.

Ian Gandel, son of billionaire shopping centre baron John Gandel, was also in the early running with his $90 million Docklands project, 360 Degrees. However none of the proposals satisfied Ericsson's requirements, according to a property industry source.

Insurance Australia Group's recent decision to take up 27,000 sq m in Australian Super Developments' Grand Central site in Bourke Street placed further pressure on Ericsson.

The expected announcement will be a boon for the $2 billion Victoria Harbour precinct as the Docklands continues to drag tenants away from the central business district.

Last week, Grocon turned the first sod at AXA's Asia Pacific headquarters at 750 Collins Street, with the financial services group expected to move into its new Docklands accommodation by 2008.

The Australian Customs Service recently signed a 10-year lease on 10,000 sq m at 1010 La Trobe Street in Digital Harbour, which is jointly owned by Babcock & Brown and the Liberman family's JGL Investments.

Yesterday, Lend Lease Development project director Maurice Cococcia declined to comment on any imminent deal with Ericsson.

"At this stage, I'm not in a position to say anything, it's just not the right time," he said.

Looming shortage of prime office space



By Cameron Houston
December 7, 2005
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/looming-shortage-of-prime-office-space/2005/12/06/1133829595264.html

IN another major coup for Melbourne's leasing market, computer giant IBM announced it was searching for new premises and would need between 15,000 and 20,000 square metres of floor space by 2009.

The US company is currently located in Southbank's IBM Tower and would consider sites in the CBD or fringe, according to Jones Lang LaSalle director Michael Greene, who has been appointed to handle the deal.

Yesterday's announcement follows the recent decision by ANZ Bank to consolidate its operations into an 80,000 sq m development, probably at Docklands.

Jones Lang LaSalle Victoria managing director David Bowden said at current take-up rates, Melbourne's CBD office market would have a zero vacancy rate by 2012 and a stock shortage was emerging.

Mr Bowden said developers would continue to tailor office buildings to suit major tenants and build additional space for smaller companies.

The buoyant demand for CBD office space was underscored by research into Melbourne's absorption rates over the past decade.

Jones Lang LaSalle Victoria research manager Darren Krakowiak said Melbourne averaged 53,000 sq m of average annual net absorption over the past 10 years.

Despite being more than 25 per cent smaller than Sydney's office market, Mr Krakowiak said Melbourne's average annual net absorption over the past decade was only 1000 sq m per year below that of the harbour city.

He said Melbourne's performance was boosted by 300,000 sq m of net absorption in the two years to September 2005, compared to just 113,000 sq m in the Sydney CBD over the same period.

The research revealed that 87 per cent of all net absorption had been recorded in premium and A-grade buildings, creating an 85,000 sq m shortfall of prime office space within five years.

There are several CBD sites that could accommodate a major office project such as 565 Collins Street, the Mazda site at 400 Williams Street, 664 Spencer Street and the second tower at the Southern Cross redevelopment.

"Sites are not the problem for the Melbourne CBD — timing the right opportunity for a development will be critical to the next building cycle," Mr Krakowiak said.

cross your fingers Brumby's trip to NY is somewhat successful with a new fund manager or two coming to set up shop.

Although Canadian, BMO Nesbitt Burns has its only presence in Australia in Melbourne, Brumby should be up in the great white north luring them to open up a bigger shop down here. BMO = Banque de Montreal, lead tenant of First Canadian Place in Toronto (the Quebecois were the 'first Canadienne' etc). RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) is centralised in Sydney and TD (Toronto-Dominion) are split between the two afaik (in Rialto last time I looked at Aus Business DB). CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) and Scotiabank are the only two of Canada's big 5 which don't have an Australian presence.

I say let them have their campuses in Docklands, if the ratio of skyscrapers to campuses that gets built is 1:3 then I'm happy. Greater business presence will only lure even more business and it's time Melbourne started throwing its weight behind its competitive advantage: lower costs of operating a business and a canvas in which each individual company can play around with to fits its own 'touchy feely' desires - you don't have anywhere near the same flexibility in central Sydney.

If there are some contraints put down in terms of sustainability requirements for all the new offices (and residentials / hotels / whatever) in Docklands then fine, let it build up as fast as it can, it'll only benefit tower development in the CBD in the long run as where do you go when Docklands is full? the focus will be squarely on the border of the new and old towns: Spencer St.

$0.02

Phwoar..
fingers crossed for one or two serious speculative TOWERS! As opposed to truncated Grand Central efforts which, though pretty, waste precious opportunities.

Blue

MAhuahuah, I got my access back to Factiva, therefore here's Capital Gain for the past two weeks:


Capital Gain
Helen Westerman
17 December 2005


Central West estate remains a family affair

PROPERTY developer Dean Giannarelli has confirmed his western suburbs Central West estate has been taken off the market, with his family planning to continue developing the site itself.

When it was first marketed in July, the 30-hectare residential, industrial and retail complex in Footscray was tipped to attract $90 million.

In October it was reported Abacus Property Group was in due diligence for the estate. But now it's all off.

"We just decided to keep it," Mr Giannarelli says. "Some members of the family wanted to keep it and some wanted to do something else. But we're building it out to its full potential."

This will include rolling out 65,000 square metres of industrial development, with 30,000 square metres going ahead on a speculative basis next year.

Telstra pulls the plug

Telstra continues to streamline its property requirements and will relinquish another 8000 square metres of CBD office space.

The telco giant plans to vacate several floors of Collins Place at 35 Collins Street under a hand-back provision with the building's owners, the AMP-managed Australian Wholesale Office Fund.

The premises will be empty by June next year and are expected to be available by early 2007.

Telstra has continued to whittle its one-million-square-metre property portfolio under the stewardship of corporate real estate manager Vito Chiodo, as the firm makes its inexorable push towards privatisation. Mr Chiodo has long preached the corporate mantra of maximising shareholder value.

Chief executive Sol Trujillo also foreshadowed the need to shed office space when he said: "We have too much of everything" at Telstra's recent investor day.

Jones Lang LaSalle and Savills have been appointed to handle the deal. -- CAMERON HOUSTON

Office sales almost double

Melbourne's CBD office market this year notched up $1.5 billion in sales topping $10 million each - nearly double the 2004 figure, according to Colliers International research.

This year's big deals included the sale of 50 per cent of 101 Collins Street to the Public Sector and Commonwealth Superannuation Schemes for $280 million.

Then there was the surprise purchase of 11-33 Exhibition Street by the German fund Real IS for $136 million, negotiated by DTZ International, and the $135 million purchase of 222 Exhibition Street by Allco Property Funds Management, negotiated by Colliers International.

Colliers International national executive director John Marasco had a bumper year, negotiating more than $200 million worth of deals in Victoria alone.

Another winner this year was Daniel Grollo, with the AXA Asia Pacific leasing deal, the success of the unlisted Grocon Property Trust and the purchase of the half share of its Queen Victoria development for $325 million from ING Real Estate. Oh, and Eureka Tower, Australia's highest success story - just.

Changing camp

Meanwhile, Savills has poached retail investments director Tim Bennetts from CB Richard Ellis to join Anthony Wilson and its new recruit Tony Crabb, who is coming across from Industry Superannuation Property Trust. Mr Bennetts will take up a national role as director of capital transactions.

A year to forget

This year was great for some, but there's that adage of what goes up . . .

Among the high-flyers who fell to earth this year was John Sage. In 1997 Mr Sage was in the midst of developing the Aurora apartments in St Kilda Road and posing in photographs with luxury cars. But by late 2003, his Merchant Pacific Group of Companies was in voluntary administration, with investors owed more than $13 million.

Things got worse in August when Mr Sage was charged by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which alleged misleading statements around his Hawthorn and Heidelberg developments. He is defending the 20 charges, which are expected to be heard early next year.

Another feeling the heat is former TEAC director and failed property developer Gavin Muir, with administrators swarming over the remnants of his Bay Street Corporation.

After two years of investigation, property spruiker Henry Kaye was charged with criminal fraud early this month around the financing of the Oasis development in St Kilda. Lawyers for Mr Kaye say he will vigorously contest the charges.

Possibly the biggest losers this year were the people of Republic of Nauru, with the break-up and sell-off of their once-glowing property portfolio.

Keep an eye on these

As 2005 winds down, Capital Gain is sticking its neck out with a list of things to watch next year.

· The Lonsdale Street power station. With the word that Harry Stamoulis has an exclusive option to buy it, the site is already been bandied about by leasing agents.

· Its neighbour The Age. The persistent whispers are that the Fairfax-owned newspaper is off to Docklands. And what of The Age's current home? Industry speculation is that the future of that site will be tied up with the development of the company's new site.

*jumps and screams like a little girl* :happy:

· The State Government's CBD parking levy. There is still a great deal of simmering anger about the slug.

This is the last Capital Gain for 2005.

We'll return in February.


Capital Gain
Helen Westerman
10 December 2005

Kvaerner House revealed as mystery site

WHICH building is the mystery St Kilda Road property unlisted fund SAITeysMcMahon is said to be poised to secure?

Capital Gain hears it is none other than 600 St Kilda Road, right next door to Record Realty's new purchase, 601 St Kilda Road.

The price being suggested for the building (right), known as Kvaerner House after its main occupant, is just under $60 million.

This would be a very good buy for SAITeysMcMahon head of property Graham Brewer, as the building last changed hands in 1999 for $58.5 million, bought by AMP Capital Property.

CB Richard Ellis selling agent Mark Granter declined to comment, while SAITeysMcMahon could not be contacted.

If it goes ahead, this would rack up an $185million spending spree by SAITeysMcMahon since May, which started when the group bought the Victoria police headquarters at the World Trade Centre for $70 million. In October, it picked up the Citibank Centre at 350 Collins Street for $55 million.

It's a big ask

The announcement by the ANZ Bank this week that it is seeking a purpose-built, campus-style headquarters in Melbourne by 2009 certainly set tongues wagging.

Now, just where, oh where, is there a site big enough to accommodate an 80,000-square-metre headquarters on the city fringe, as specified in the brief?

There's a bank that could already answer that one, of course: NAB@Docklands, a fine example of a purpose-built, campus-style headquarters if there ever was one.

Lend Lease, fresh from securing telecommunications giant Ericsson Australia 12,000 square metres in Victoria Harbour, still has more than enough room next to NAB, which declined to exercise its option on the site two months ago.

Lend Lease is believed to be feeling confident - but would this arrangement be a little cosy for such competitors? It begs the question of whether the ANZ want to be perceived as following NAB's lead.

There are alternative sites galore - Drapac's Mazda site at 400 William Street; RMIT's site; Spencer Street station; Multiplex could also have a whack with its second tower of SX (although whispers still suggest this may be filled with Department of Infrastructure staff); and the Stamoulis family-owned 565 Collins Street, among others.

One source even suggested the Lonsdale Street power station, valuable property despite its nasty polluted legacy and said to be in the process of being acquired by Harry Stamoulis.

But as one seasoned property source remarked: "Everyone and anyone will have a go. There are plenty that fit 40,000 square metres, but to get 80,000 square metres is a big ask."

Capital Gain has heard that one of the other reasons ANZ is keen to move out of 530 Collins Street, the Australia Stock Exchange building, is because of security concerns.

Off to greener pastures

Green Building Council of Australia head Maria Atkinson has announced she is leaving the organisation to take up the role of global head of sustainability for Lend Lease Corporation.

In a statement, the GBCA said it expected to name an appointment to a new position of chief operating officer in the coming weeks, "to cope with the enormous growth of the organisation and its activities over the past three years".

Swings and roundabouts

Melbourne's commercial property market could be likened to a merry-go-round when it comes to staff changes. With a just a few big players, it's common to see the same faces periodically reappearing at certain agencies.

But one of the biggest surprises must be the return of Tony Crabb to Savills, the commercial agency he left just over two years ago.

A veteran property researcher, it appeared the sometimes controversial Mr Crabb had packed his bags for good when he moved into a listed funds management and research role with Industry Superannuation Property Trust.

But this week he confirmed his return to Savills in a specially tailored role of director of investment strategy. The position will involve Mr Crabb working with Savills' institutional clients in an advisory role covering forecasting, portfolio risk and management.

Mr Crabb spent 10 years as an equities trader, followed by eight years with Colliers International, then Savills.

But a decision by ISPT following a review earlier this year to concentrate on direct property left Mr Crabb under utilised.

However, he may have his work cut out for him as there is a perception that Savills, a relative minnow in Melbourne, has struggled to make a mark on the market this year.

Savill's new boss Dominic Long denies this, saying high-profile transactions have been few and far between for almost everyone this year, aside from the current late-year flurry.

Mr Long says the group did very well under former managing director Marcus Hanlon, although he concedes that while its turnover was up from last year, there has been a plateau in the business he is now aiming to overcome.

The group has already made another confirmed appointment, who will come from interstate, and there will be two more early in the new year, he says.

Mr Hanlon stepped down as managing director in October to move to Docklands as the National Australia Bank's head of property.

Meanwhile, Knight Frank's senior researcher Glenn Lampard is returning to CB Richard Ellis to join researcher Richard Jenkins, in a move designed to add more muscle to the research team. Mr Lampard has spent four years at Knight Frank and the preceding five with CBRE, minus a short stint in between at Savills.

Swings and roundabouts, as they say.

Drapac has submitted it's planning application for the Mazda site across the road form The Queen Victoria Market:

Buildings and works to construct an integrated campus style office and retail development comprising approximately 58 905 m2 of office space, 3620 m2 retail space, 200 bicycle spaces and 474 car parking spaces

The application also includes the Radisson on Flagstaff Gardens hotel, so that could be going as well.

Here is an earlier article about the proposal:

http://www.propertyreview.com.au/archives/2005/29062005/headline/05072005003.html

Drapac plans $600m CBD spree
Ted McDonnell
July 05, 2005

http://www.propertyreview.com.au/archives/2005/29062005/headline/image/drapac_williamst.jpg
Drapac's William Street site

Private development group Drapac has revealed to propertyreview.com.au that it is gearing up to launch more than $600 million worth of office developments circling Melbourne 's central business district.

The group told propertyreview.com.au yesterday that intends developing three strategic sites around Melbourne 's CBD involving more than 100,000 sqm of office space over the next few years.

Late last week, Drapac announced its $350 million plans for the 400 Williams Street site in Melbourne .

The Mazda site is strategically placed on the edge of Mebourne's law precinct, and according to Drapac's Ashley Wain, the site could accommodate 60,000 sqm of office in several campus style buildings. The site is also adjacent to Melbourne 's Queen Victoria Market.

However, Wain said Drapac was also initialising plans to develop its 4000 sqm site in McKenzie Street into a 20,000 sqm office building as well as developing its landmark City Ford site at the top end of Elizabeth Street , Melbourne .

The City Ford site, which sits at the northern gateway to Melbourne 's CBD, is a 7000 sqm site that will become part of the Parkville Innovation precinct.

Wain said the group was planning a major development on the site that will compliment that Parkville Innovation precinct.

“We are presently positioning ourselves for the upswing in the next commercial cycle in Melbourne 's CBD,” Drapac's Wain said yesterday.

“We continue to be positive about Melbourne CBD office market and the trend towards campus style offices.”

Drapac has also announced that the huge Latrobe Street site that they bought next to Concept Blue has been split up and they have sold off sepeartely the three office buildings fronting Latrobe Street and will develop a 30,000 square metre office building on the land behind.

You couldn't really expect too much (height-wise) in this area would you? given Flagstaff gardens and it being overshadowed through much of the morning....... no?

still though, there's still that Queen Vic car park / cemetary that's a flipping eyesore and in need of eradication :evil:

There is a small pic on www.drapac.com.au and it looks pretty radical.

The previous approved plan for the site was the Greenwich Village apartment tower which was 26 levels and 72 metres high.

Gee, Drapac have huge land holdings around the edge of the CBD. I wish they didn't sell off the La Trobe Street frontage. It could have been a huge development. Oh well, now its up to another developer to demolish La Trobe Street and go up up up!!!

Also, I would like to see Elizabeth St between Victoria St/Queen Victoria Market and the Haymarket Roundabout redeveloped to accomodate office & housing up to 15 levels. It has great potential.

There is a small pic on www.drapac.com.au and it looks pretty radical.
http://users.bigpond.net.au/dasa/drapacmazdasite.jpg

The liveable city's big year of change (http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/the-liveable-citys-big-year-of-change/2005/12/30/1135915692186.html)
By Orietta Guerrera
The Age (www.theage.com.au)
31 December 2005

TONIGHT'S fireworks in Melbourne will burst over a changing landscape. When the clock strikes midnight, one of the most eventful years in the city's history of construction will begin.

The Commonwealth Games is a driving force behind many projects, such as the athletes village and the upgrade of the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, and a backdrop for others.

Stage one of the $1 billion Waterfront City project is almost complete — with most of the 14 restaurants and 30 shops to open by mid-January. A month later construction of stage two — 42,000 square metres of retail space, 2000 car spaces and 103 townhouses — begins.

But perhaps the most startling project visually will be the controversial Southern Star Observation Wheel, with construction of the $60 million, 120-metre structure (similar to the London Eye) set to start in February.

Waterfront City developer ING Real Estate Development Australia expects the project to take two years, with wheel parts being built on site and overseas.

Changes range from the subtle — shiny new stainless steel street furniture in the CBD — to the more dramatic, such as the newly renamed and revamped $700 million-plus Southern Cross Station complete with a massive retail complex.

The city's transformation has not been without problems and controversy — budget blow-outs, legal challenges, and a troublesome leaky Commonwealth Games pool.

As Melbourne has expanded, there is no longer one dominant public space.

Perhaps fittingly, public parties will be held at seven vantage points to watch tonight's fireworks display.

Lord Mayor John So said 2006 would bring more developments similar to those that have revitalised the city centre in recent years.

He said Melbourne was becoming more open and accessible, pointing to developments such as the new footbridge linking the MCG, Vodafone Arena and Rod Laver Arena to the CBD, and the extension of Collins Street to the ever-changing Docklands precinct.

"In the past year we have seen much going on in the city, and developments in the city that basically changed Melbourne," Cr So said.

"It also extended the city beyond the river to the waterways and the Docklands. It's opened up Melbourne for the first time to be a truly global waterfront capital," he said.

"People coming to Melbourne will be amazed to see the changes."

When Melbourne fashionistas in flimsy summer dresses arrived at the launch of the 2006 Melbourne Fashion Festival at the Waterfront City Pavilion this month, admiring construction workers gathered nearby.

But when the launch ran over time, festival director Karen Webster's speech was drowned out by jackhammers thundering outside the Docklands site. There was no time to waste. ING Real Estate Development Australia managing director Mark Broomfield said Melburnians should brace themselves for increased activity on the waterfront.

"Docklands is not something that will appear overnight, but you are seeing it grow and grow," he said.

The rejuvenation of the CBD will roll on after major redevelopments at the Queen Victoria building, Melbourne GPO, Melbourne Central and Federation Square in recent years.

Six months and $5.75 million later, the Bourke Street Mall upgrade was largely completed in time for the post-Christmas sales this week. The project includes platform tram stops, new tram tracks, overhead lighting, and the stainless steel furniture.

Removable potted trees — which will be changed with the seasons — will be installed by early February.

Mayor So said the aim of the project was to de-clutter the mall and return a "lively pace" to the area.

Some temporary but seemingly permanent features of Melbourne's facade will finally disappear next year.

Ahead of schedule, restoration of the Moorhouse tower and spire at St Paul's Cathedral is due to be completed by August, which means farewell to the scaffolding — controversially proposed as a site for a King Kong billboard this year — which has surrounded the Anglican church on the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets for several years.

Further out at Carlton, after much stalling and years of talking, Piazza Italia, at Argyle Square, will be revealed soon.

The turf has been laid at the $3.5 million Italian-themed public square, and the Melbourne City Council is literally waiting for the grass to grow before it is opened on January 29.

Further out at Carlton, after much stalling and years of talking, Piazza Italia, at Argyle Square, will be revealed soon.


What's that?

The Lygon Street Piazza.

http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/rsrc/media/Feature/ArgyleSquareImageTwo.jpg?0.9681024678170125

http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/rsrc/media/Feature/ArgyleSquareImageOne.jpg?0.25834500595407544

http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/rsrc/Images/cityprojects/ArgyleSquare/ArgyleSquare.jpg?0.7906712867049861

23 June 2005

Work is beginning on Melbourne’s newest public open space, the $3.5 million Piazza Italia at Argyle Square on Lygon St, Carlton.

Piazza Italia will redevelop the Eastern end of Argyle Square with new landscaping, paving, trees and a giant 45 m2 Solar Clock that will delight Melburnians for generations to come.

The Lord Mayor John So said the Piazza will be a wonderful addition to Melbourne’s famous Italian precinct.

“For generations, Argyle Square has been a place where city residents, workers and visitors have stopped to soak up the atmosphere of Lygon St, eat gelati and catch up with friends and family,” the Lord Mayor said.

“The design of the Piazza will allow this tradition to continue, while also opening up the northern part of the square to transform the former Carlton Bowling Club area into a bustling, versatile, contemporary piazza.”

“The proposed design is intended to create a place to meet and linger. There will be plenty of places to sit, relax, enjoy the sun or the shade, and watch the passing parade,” he said.

"The proposed design, including the fascinating solar clock, will be an enduring reminder of the wonderful influence of Italian culture and the Italian community has on our city, and the thriving Melbourne - Milan Sister City Relationship."

“The Piazza is intended to celebrate the benefits that Italian culture has brought to Melbourne. These themes are played out on a variety of levels through the involvement of the community in the design, by using traditional Italian skills and materials and, then sharing that knowledge with local artisans,” he said.

Piazza Italia is expected to be finished in time for the gelati season in December this year.

Hopefully this trend continues and encourages big hotel projects.

Melbourne leads hotel industry boom
Email Print Normal font Large font By Cameron Houston
January 18, 2006


THE national hotel market has boomed for the third successive quarter, with Melbourne recording its highest occupancy rate in a September quarter for almost 20 years. Further growth is expected in the lead-up to the March Commonwealth Games.

Occupancy rates surged to 74 per cent over the September quarter, while the average daily room rate increased by 6.1 per cent to $138, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels executive vice-president Troy Craig described the result as "groundbreaking", with hotel demand up 22 per cent over the past five years. He said Melbourne's market continued to capitalise on the city's reputation as a leading events destination and had increased its share of the international travel market.

According to Melbourne Airport, total passenger movements increased by 4 per cent over the September quarter to 5.4 million arrivals. More significantly, international arrivals jumped by 7 per cent over the quarter, with strong growth in the number of Chinese and South Korean visitors. Chinese tourists now account for more than 8 per cent of total international visitor nights in Australian hotels, 10 times the level of a decade ago.

International airlines have seized on the trend, with Qantas, Air China and China Eastern Airlines opening new routes over the next month. By 2008, Qantas plans to operate daily flights to Beijing and Shanghai. Mr Craig said the Melbourne hotel market had also benefited from a downturn in supply, with only 158 new hotel rooms in the year to September. He predicted an even stronger performance over the December quarter and many hotels to be booked out over the March quarter. "We're starting to see demand generated by sponsors and other associated groups involved in the Commonwealth Games preparations and that figure will increase over the next month," he said.

But several hotel managers expressed concern yesterday that the Commonwealth Games would coincide with the industry's busiest quarter, which includes the Australian Open, the Australian Grand Prix and the Volvo Ocean Race.

Great to see the booming international travel sector starting to have an impact on the hotel industry. Maybe the Shangrla Hotel at Docklands will come on line sooner rather than later.

^^Fingers crossed. :)

CBD vacancy at 7.7% again......... oversupply, Melbourne's going to die, it's the 90s all over again, oh the humanity....... :lol:

AFR
Suburbs set for resurgence
Mathew Dunckle
19 January 2006

Melbourne OFFICE MARKET 2006

The best view of the action in Melbourne's commercial office market in 2006 could well be from the top of a CBD tower looking out towards the suburbs, not the other way around.

Experts say the market, which accounts for 30 per cent of Melbourne's office stock, is likely to experience a significant increase in rentals, values and construction over the next 12 months.

Colliers International suburban office chief executive Rob Joyes said low vacancies were expected to drive rents up by as much as 15 per cent compared with the single-digit increases predicted in the CBD.

"We expect the latest round of speculative construction and refurbishment activity to continue, with around 46,000 square metres of new supply under way of which around 40 per cent has been pre-committed," he said.

"Continued white-collar employment growth, a flight to quality space and expansion space requirements were the drivers for new construction."

CB Richard Ellis state research director Glenn Lampard agreed the suburban market would probably be characterised by rising rents and lowering vacancies over the next 12 months.

"The suburbs have been travelling very well and this year will see a continuation of that, generally speaking," he said.

The litmus test for the market would be the take-up of speculatively built developments such as parts of R Corporation's Botannica Corporate Park in Richmond, he said.

Meanwhile, most agree it will be steady as she goes in the Melbourne CBD office market this year. There will be moderate increases in rents and vacancy levels will be steady.

Colliers International's head of commercial leasing Victoria, Andrew Tracey, said the strength of the entire market as opposed to specific sectors had surprised analysts.

"If last year's trend continued - and the level of inquiry and activity in the second half of the year leads us to believe it has - then we will see massive net absorption for the second year in a row," he said.

Mr Tracey said the major pre-commitments of 2005 - Axa in a 36,000 sq m building at Docklands and IAG at the 27,500 sq m Grand Central site in the CBD - would form the cornerstone of the new development cycle.

He tipped vacancies to tighten at the top end of the market until 2008.

Some analysts were more bullish about Melbourne's prospects.

Savills associate director, professional services and valuations Victoria, Robert Cuningham, said as the construction boom slowed market conditions would improve.

"The Melbourne CBD should be one of the best performing rental markets in 2006 as it emerges from a rental slump," he said.

"Tenant demand is rising, the economy remains strong, investor sentiment is turning around and rents are showing signs of growth again.

"These factors combined are likley to drive yields lower as investors move in anticipation of strong performance in coming years."

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Drought over for landlords
Ben Wilmot
19 January 2006

The trusts OFFICE MARKET 2006

Listed property analysts are split on whether investors are on the cusp of seeing a big upswing across Australia's office markets.

"The drought has broken," Macquarie Equities analyst Anthony Shields said. In a bullish take on the sector, he said that net absorption by tenants had at last exceeded expectations.

He had waited four years for office markets to surprise on the upside. They had delivered - there was 500,000 square metres of net absorption of space in the past 12 months in Australia's central business districts.

This had not been seen since 2000, and before that 1994.

Brisbane led the recovery, but the key Sydney market showed 66,700 square metres of net take-up in the nine months to September, and more than 10 large users were in the market looking for space.

A survey by Macquarie Equities of tenant representatives shows they expect lower vacancy, reducing incentive levels, and higher effective rents in 2006 in the key markets for listed property trusts; Sydney, North Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Another factor in landlords' favour is the time lag while developers react, particularly in Sydney, where Macquarie's three-year outlook for average annual net supply is 45 per cent below the annual average of the previous 14 years.

Mr Shields said that in this context, office trusts were cheap. "We are likely to see only the beginnings of the recovery in the interim reporting season," he said.

"We expect the market to begin to remove any discount it was applying to the deliverability of yields on offer early in 2006, and add growth back into its outlook."

Mr Shields said the best way to tap into the breaking drought was via the ING Office Fund, Commonwealth Property Office Fund, Macquarie Office Trust and DB RREEF Trust.

Citigroup analyst Quentin Velleley has a far more cautious view.

He said Melbourne office markets were characterised by strong tenant demand but a large impending supply problem.

Investa Property Group was the most exposed, followed by the Commonwealth Property Office Fund and the ING Office Fund.

Vacancy in the Melbourne CBD is just 7.7 per cent.

However, Melbourne's building boom was continuing.

In the CBD and Docklands, 280,000 square metres of office space was under construction, or about to start.

"This represents further supply additions of about 8.3 per cent, and we anticipate vacancy to increase to about 13 per cent," Mr Velleley said.

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Rent relief at last for office landlords
Kathryn House
19 January 2006

For office landlords, 2006 is shaping up to be a bumper year.

While tenants have had the whip hand in recent years, particularly in Sydney, the balance is shifting as office vacancy rates drop and many leading companies reassess their space needs.

The biggest rent increases are expected in the booming Brisbane and Perth markets, while in Sydney and Melbourne landlords are starting to anticipate some rental growth for the first time in years after a long-awaited turnaround at the end of 2005.

This week, American Express has agreed to lease virtually all of a new waterfront tower to be developed by the Multiplex Group at King Street Wharf in the Sydney CBD.

"In the past six months, we have seen a significant increase in demand for contiguous office space in the Sydney CBD and fringe office markets," said Multiplex's deputy managing director, developments, Dennis O'Regan.

Jones Lang LaSalle's regional research director, Kathryn Matthews, says the major office markets will operate at three speeds in the next few years, the decisive factors being economic growth and new construction.

Brisbane is firing and Perth is not far behind - both having benefited from an unprecedented resources boom and, in the case of Brisbane, interstate migration and a lack of new construction in recent years.

With little new office supply, JLL is tipping rents will spike by 15 per cent in both cities next year, having already grown by 25 per cent in Perth and 18 per cent in Brisbane in 2005.

ING Office Fund chief executive Tino Tanfara said: "Brisbane has been a sleeping giant. Tenants are really scrambling, especially if they're big space users . . . the new towers are all precommitted and you're going to see more tenants move across the river to business park-type locations as the city gets pricier."

Perth is similarly placed. Tenant incentives have contracted from as high as 30 per cent to about 10 per cent in the past 12 months, according to Colliers International director of commercial leasing Ian Campbell. He said resource companies and government agencies leased a record amount of office space during the year.

This was the year landlords had "waited almost 15 years to see, and with no new supply under way, it will be a landlords' market for at least the next three years".

Vacancy figures released by the Property Council of Australia last August - the most recent figures available - showed Brisbane's vacancy rate was just 3.9 per cent and Perth was 9.5 per cent.

The Sydney CBD had a vacancy rate of 10.2 per cent in the half year to July 2005, and in Melbourne's CBD it was 7.7 per cent.

Analysts believe Sydney still has a double-digit vacancy rate, but for the first time in years landlords are expecting some rental growth.

"The first day of October the switch was flicked," said Tony Cope, who controls one of the country's biggest office portfolios for the GPT Group. Underscoring that was the fact that some larger tenants had been pipped on several lease deals and were still scrambling to find space.

"It's not hot but there's more tension," he said. "Demand is clearly growing and it does look sustainable. Incentives are dropping rapidly in premium buildings and, with little new supply, tenants are realising if they don't deal now, the deal they do in six months time won't be as good."

JLL is also tipping some growth in Melbourne. Rents have risen slightly, according to Savills research after declining by as much as 27 per cent in the past four years, and tenant demand has been far stronger than expected, outstripping Sydney in the first half of last year.

Bringing up the rear are Canberra and Adelaide. Canberra is a potential basket case as government departments leave the city's older office towers for new development projects. JLL tips its vacancy rate will climb in the next few years to about 14.5 per cent and that Adelaide won't be far behind with a vacancy rate as high as 13.5 per cent after a $1 billion office development boom.

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I'll revisit this post when I get back from O/S:

my tips on a anchor tenant in the portfolio site on Collins St, same goes for old ASX and a new Prudential site proposal released (:D :D :D) by the time I get back in October.

A new Prudential site proposal, gee whiz tays isn't that wishful thinking nothing's been happening with that site for yonks (:D:D:D).

ah also, reckon we';ll find out the fate of the AXA building / site (Collins St CBD) by the end of the year? AXA will be out of there by half-way through next year, no?

*rubs hands together*

Also maybe Age/Fairfax (or whatever it's called) site, Old Power Station site and maybe a tower to go with the new Convention centre.

yer, Fairfax is looking likely.

Archi, design us a 180m tower for the prudential site (the two older buildings to the left of the APA building on Queen St (bottom of the pano linked below)) and add yer 368 Little Collins building to this pic:

http://www.melbournephotos.net/images/2005-04-15%20Melbourne%20-%202%20Giant%20Panoramas%20from%20Rialto%20Obs%20deck%20and%20Construction%20updates/east.jpg.html

champion. :D

I'll try and chuck in every building into that pano, ie. Grand Central, 368, FwP2, Prima, and some design I'll whip up for the Prudential site etc.

For Prudential I just chucked on a tower I made up for the Age site.

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/4576/panowithtowers8im.th.jpg (http://img43.imageshack.us/my.php?image=panowithtowers8im.jpg)