Building begins on $460m office and community precinct at 480 Swan St, Richmond

Charter Hall Group (Charter Hall or the Group) and Victorian Funds Management Corporation (VFMC) will today hold the project launch and official sod turning ceremony at 480 Swan Street, Richmond, where construction is underway for Australia Post’s new $460 million National Support Centre, due for completion in 2024.

The 12 storey, 32,000 square metre (sqm), A-grade commercial office development will provide Australia Post with a state-of-the-art, high-quality workplace on generous 3,000sqm floorplates and outstanding sustainability credentials.

Centrally located in one of the most sought-after pockets of Richmond, the project will be a social and community focused commercial precinct that elevates the existing amenity of the vibrant city-fringe suburb. It will provide 1,000sqm of new retail and services, as well as pedestrian pathways between transportation, office, and lifestyle amenities.

Charter Hall Office CEO, Carmel Hourigan, said, “We are continuing to see a flight-to-quality across our office market nationwide, with our valued tenant customers seeking premium workplaces where their teams can be inspired by open and collaborative spaces, sustainability credentials and premium amenity.”

“We are excited to witness today the early stages of construction of what will be another Charter Hall carbon neutral building. Here, in the thriving inner-city precinct of Richmond and adjacent to Burnley station, a new sustainability benchmark is underway, purpose built for our anchor tenant, Australia Post.”

Treasurer of Victoria, Tim Pallas, said, “Works underway so soon on this major project demonstrates the success of our accelerated approvals strategy to drive investment, create jobs and keep construction moving to strengthen our continued economic recovery.”

“We are not only supporting the Victorian construction industry and its workers, but also boosting local economies like Richmond, which will reap the benefits from thousands of Australia Post employees’ spending power.”

Constructed by Built, one of Australia’s largest private construction groups, 480 Swan Street will also feature premium end-of-trip facilities and significant upgrades to the surrounding streetscapes. The development will be carbon neutral throughout construction and will provide more than 2,000 construction jobs, assisting the Victorian economy recover from the impacts of COVD-19.

This transformational new workplace extends Charter Hall’s long-term and valued tenant partnership with Australia Post, which occupies more than 50 Charter Hall properties nationwide across office, retail and industrial and logistics assets.

Australia Post Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Paul Graham, said, “We are pleased to be working with Charter Hall to relocate Australia Post’s Melbourne office to Burnley in 2024, which presents us with an exciting blank canvas to accommodate our National Support Centre, and allows us to create an environment to connect and partner with our customers, community and the wider Australia Post network.”

“Australia Post has deep connections to supporting local communities, and we are very much looking forward to joining a growing precinct of technology and innovation, and the wider diverse fabric of the Richmond community.”