Capital Gain
Saturday Age 3/7
Hugh Martin
Does Grollo have an Axa to grind?
With 2003 being described by many a property observer as the industry's annus horribilis as nearly 400,000sqm of space was being built in the CBD, Southbank and Docklands, 2004 was to be a year of respite.
This year was to give the industry time to take stock of the passing construction boom. In 2004 there were to be no new tenancy pre-commitments or construction announcements, signalling the end of the cycle.
Cranes were to slowly disappear from the city skyline as projects were completed and filled with office workers. And the hurtful terms of 'over-supply' and 'revaluation' were to fade from memory.
But the industry is about to be passed the smelling salts with the construction of
at least two office towers to be committed to before the end of the year.
Said to be at the centre of the cycle's second wind is superannuation and investment giant
AXA's decision to quit its Collins Street digs.
One developer seen wooing the company is Grocon figurehead Daniel Grollo,
with a Docklands proposal.
"Unable to comment" on such speculation, it is said that Grollo again has warmed to Docklands after the frosting the relationship received when Grollo Tower, to be the world's tallest building at the time, was dumped by the former Docklands Authority.
He condemned the former authority for its "painfully slow and unnecessarily tortuous" procedures. But Grollo is back at Batman's Hill and it might be he has a potential
AXA in tow.
In a Jones Lang LaSalle tender campaign that closed this week for an
AXA relocation, Grollo was seen vying with Docklands rivals, the Kuok Group and Folkestone Leighton, who are also said to be tempting
AXA west of Wurrundjeri Way. Civic Nexus is seen having hopes of landing the tenant for its Southern Cross STation redevelopment while Multiplex also has space for
AXA at its Southern Cross Hotel redevelopment site. Australian Super Developments is also in the want of a tenant for its Grand Central scheme.
While that's five towers found in need of a major tenant to anchor projects, a sixth can be seen at 565 Collins Street where soft-drink king turned property tycoon Spiros Stamoulis has a concept for the vacant development site.
While there can be only one winner in the race to build
AXA a home, there are said to be
second, third and possible fourth places in the offing. Speculation is rising about
Optus's long-awaited relocation announcement while observers keenly watch
Australia Post at its Exhibition Street HQ. And word has it that
Telstra could soon be in the market to replace some of its lower-grade addresses.
_________________________
AXA: 447C & 8Ni. estimate of space? 20,000? 30,000?
Optus: 367C: I've been in there when it was Cable & Wireless Optus: from memory they have at least 10 floors (the rest of the building is still very much financial [it was a financial tower in the first place, however])
Australia Post: 321Ex, weren't they going to be expanding?
Telstra: Higher-grade spaces: 242Ex, 300La & 25C - 25C might be considered lower-grade, but I can't think of anymore buildings where they are, west end?
*rubs hands together*
