Final Stages of Transformative Wesley Place Precinct Under Way

Charter Hall Group (Charter Hall) has today announced that construction works have commenced on 150 Lonsdale Street at Wesley Place in Melbourne. This follows significant milestones for Charter Hall’s transformative $1.5 billion Wesley Place Precinct this year, with construction also moving forward at 140 Lonsdale Street and Practical Completion reached for the 60,000sqm, $750 million commercial office building at 130 Lonsdale Street.

The $60 million upgrade and repositioning of 150 Lonsdale Street is due for completion in late 2021. The $350 million 140 Lonsdale Street A-Grade office tower will be the new home for the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and is due for completion in late 2022. Both projects received fast-tracked Development Approval from the Victorian Government earlier in the year, as part of the Building Victoria’s Recovery Taskforce’s mandate to keep the state's economy moving and to create jobs.

Charter Hall has appointed Lendlease as the construction partner for both projects, with works onsite able to be undertaken in accordance with Lendlease’s strict COVID-19 safety measures. The Wesley Place precinct has created over 2,000 jobs to date and will continue to employ over 1,500 people through the construction phases at 140 and 150 Lonsdale Street.

Charter Hall’s Managing Director and Group CEO, Mr David Harrison, said “It’s an important time for the Wesley Place precinct. As well as reaching practical completion for 130 Lonsdale Street this year, the final step towards delivering the three future-ready commercial towers has begun with the new Victorian State Office for AFP under construction at 140 Lonsdale Street and 150 Lonsdale Street’s upgrade and repositioning works now underway.

“We know how important job creation is for the Victorian economy and we ensured moving forward with works onsite at 140 and 150 Lonsdale Street was a priority after receiving fast tracked Development Approvals from the State Government. We’d like to thank the Victorian Government for its continued support for this transformative precinct within the CBD.

"A commitment of this scale also reflects our confidence in the long-term future of the Melbourne CBD office market” said Mr Harrison.

Victorian Treasurer and Minister for Economic Development, Mr Tim Pallas, said “Despite the current challenges posed by coronavirus, Victoria remains open for business and our economy is geared to weather this storm.

“I congratulate Charter Hall for getting these projects off the ground. They will play a key role in our economic recovery by creating direct and indirect jobs, and these developments will become wonderful additions to our city.

"Throughout this pandemic, we've stood with the sector by making sure they can continue to make progress building a bigger and better Victoria," added Mr Pallas.

150 Lonsdale Street’s repositioning will create a modern A-Grade $300 million, 30,000sqm commercial office building. A six-level podium extension and premium ground floor lobby experience will be integrated with a new pedestrian thoroughfare from Lonsdale Street through to Little Lonsdale Street.

The major upgrade will also provide tenant customers with a range of flexible amenity and technology integrations aligned with the broader Wesley Place precinct. These include a revitalised retail offering, a dedicated concierge, a wellness centre, hotel style End of Trip facilities and a new Business Hub.

On completion, 140 Lonsdale Street will be a purpose built A-Grade office tower comprising of 22,760sqm of commercial space across 20 levels. To meet the evolving needs and challenges of Australian law enforcement, 140 Lonsdale Street has been fully customised to suit the bespoke requirements of the Australia Federal Police and designed to allow flexibility, growth and transformation.

The building will showcase future-focused workspaces embedded with the latest technology, physical and digital security, energy efficiency and occupant wellbeing features.

Charter Hall’s Regional Development Director, Mr Simon Stockfeld, said “Notwithstanding the challenges of COVID-19, it is really pleasing to see the transformation of Wesley Place continue. We have recently completed 130 Lonsdale Street and the impressive 5,000sqm ground plane, and the team is now focused on delivering best in class, technology enabled assets at 140 and 150 Lonsdale Street for our tenant customers.

“We are very pleased to be able to extend our building partnership with Lendlease at Wesley Place,” added Mr Stockfeld. 140 and 150 Lonsdale Street are owned by the Charter Hall Office Trust (CHOT).

CHOT Fund Manager, Mr Trent James said “It’s an exciting milestone for the fund and our investors to see the construction works now underway at both 140 Lonsdale Street and 150 Lonsdale Street.

“These two developments demonstrate Charter Hall’s commitment to maximising long term value for our investors by optimising the health and wellbeing and technological benefits available to tenants and delivering high quality office accommodation” said Mr James.