Charter Hall and Telstra break new ground
17/04/2007 - PDF Version Available
Charter Hall Group and Telstra today broke new ground as they celebrated the commencement of construction on 275 George Street, Brisbane, part of Charter Hall's $550 million Brisbane CBD office development and soon to be Telstra's new Queensland headquarters.
Telstra made Brisbane history last year by signing one of the largest property leasing pre-commitments. Telstra has pre-leased levels 1-24 comprising approximately 31,000m2, which will be home to over 2,500 staff. Construction on 275 George Street will commence shortly, with completion due in 2009.
Designed by award winning architectural firm, Crone Partners, 275 George Street has been designed to achieve a 4.5 star Australian Building Greenhouse Rating and a 5 Green Star Rating. Telstra's Executive Director of Transformation for Telstra Country WideŽ, Don Pinel said the opening of the new Brisbane headquarters and bringing people closer together would make a real difference to the culture of the Brisbane team.
"Having all our people within walking distance will make it much easier for us to work together as we continue our transformation journey to create a new Telstra," he said.
Along with Charter Hall's solid track record in delivering %u2018A grade' commercial buildings for pre-committed tenants, the Group has demonstrated its ability to provide a strong return on equity for its shareholders. This success has been underpinned by Charter Hall's highly skilled and
experienced management team, which has lead the expansion of the Group.
Charter Hall's Joint Managing Director, David Southon commented "the Group has delivered on its strategy to expand its operations nationally and the development of Northbank Plaza and 275 George Street has been the impetus for the Group opening a new office in Brisbane's CBD, in addition to its Sydney, Perth and Auckland offices".
The development heralds a new beginning in the regeneration of the Northbank precinct and delivers on the Queensland Government's vision to realise the potential of one of Brisbane's greatest CBD riverfront areas. The site is positioned to capitalise on Brisbane City Council's master plan initiatives, such as the King George Square upgrade and the new Adelaide Street bridge.
Urban Planning Chairperson Councillor and Deputy Mayor, David Hinchliffe said "this exciting development will provide much-needed office space for our thriving CBD and is most welcome.
"Currently, Brisbane's CBD has the second lowest CBD office vacancy in Australia, with a net absorption of 55,990sqm for the six months to January 2007. This is a record and nearly six times the 15-year average for the market.
"The plan for the next 20 years is to accommodate more than 40,000 extra office workers in the city centre – developments such as 275 George Street will help achieve that.
"I'm sure this building will become a key feature and a popular destination of the revitalisation of this precinct."
Don Pinel, Executive Director of Transformation, Telstra Country WideŽ, David Southon, Joint Managing Director Charter Hall, Vito Chiodo, Head of Property for Telstra and the Brisbane's Deputy Mayor, David Hinchliffe will mark the occasion by turning the first sod on the site of 275 George Street.