Charter Hall’s Docklands office tower near Etihad Stadium wins development approval
Listed property trust Charter Hall has received development approval to build a 12-storey office tower in Docklands in the last available office development site in the Etihad Stadium precinct.
The 685 La Trobe Street project is a joint venture with Flagship Property Holdings, with marketing of the office and retail space commencing in May this year.
Charter Hall paid $5 million to acquire a 50% interest in the development as part of an agreement with Flagship to jointly undertake the development of the project once a substantial leasing pre-commitment has been secured.
The 37,000-square-metre A-grade office building will feature 3,300 square metre floor plates, the largest of any readily available office building in Docklands.
Around 1,100 square metres of ground floor space has been designated for retail use.
The office building, which will feature a textured glass facade, has been designed by architects Bates Smart, the firm behind Fairfax’s Media House headquarters on Spencer Street in Docklands.
The building has been designed to meet five-star Green Star and five- star NABERS energy ratings and comprises 137 car spaces and a dedicated mezzanine for 250 bicycles.
It will link up with Southern Cross train station via the Etihad Stadium Concourse, as well as having a tram stop at its doorstep on La Trobe Street.
Its signature feature is its butterfly-shaped design, which creates two landscaped plazas, two wings of office space and a large central hub space that unites the building.
A double-height entrance lobby on La Trobe Street will have a sculpted blackbutt timber ceiling, flanked on either side by a vaulted ceiling that leads to the terrazzo tiled lift lobbies.
Construction of the project is due to begin mid-next year once a substantial leasing pre-commitment has been secured with a completion date of 2015 pencilled in.
The leasing of space in the building is being marketed by Nicholas Farley, head of Victorian leasing for Savills.
"As the last office development to be built in the Stadium Precinct, it offers the best northern light, the best transport access and it’s close to everything,” says Chris Chapple, head of development services at Charter Hall.
Steve Wise, director of Flagship Property Holdings says 685 La Trobe Street reflects the “very best of commercial design that creates flexible work environments with great amenity for the people that will work there”.