Cbus Property & Brookfield join forces to develop prime commercial site at Nine The Esplanade, Elizabeth Quay

APRIL 2023

Cbus Property and Brookfield have partnered in a joint venture to develop Nine The Esplanade in Perth’s Elizabeth Quay mixed-use development precinct.

The announcement marks the companies’ second joint venture, following the success of their partnership on the Classic East Melbourne residential development in Victoria.

The development site at Lot 6, Elizabeth Quay, to be known as Nine The Esplanade, will become home to a 19-level Premium Grade office tower.

Under the terms of the joint venture, Cbus Property and Brookfield will deliver the best-in-class office tower with generous floorplates averaging 1,870 square metres, uninterrupted river views, state-of-the-art end-of-trip facilities, excellent transport links and dynamic tenant amenity, including a cafe, business lounge, conferencing facilities and waterfront dining.

Cbus Property’s Chief Executive Officer, Adrian Pozzo, said that Nine Elizabeth Quay presented “an invaluable opportunity to re-enter the Perth office market following the success of 140 William Street 10 years ago”.

“It is great to be back,” Mr Pozzo said.

“In recognising the prime location of the site in the heart of the landmark Elizabeth Quay precinct, we seized the opportunity to partner with Brookfield to deliver another industry-leading commercial office building for Perth.

“Nine The Esplanade will join Cbus Property’s $6.0 billion carbon-neutral office portfolio across Australia, reinforcing our aspiration to deliver the most sustainable office portfolio in the country.”

Brookfield Managing Partner and Head of Real Estate in Australia, Sophie Fallman, said: “Perth is experiencing the strongest market conditions since the 2011 resources boom. The global flight-to-quality thematic for real estate is playing out in the Perth office sector, resulting in strong demand for highly sustainable and amenitised PCA Premium Grade assets.

“We have strong conviction in the Perth market and are pleased to be developing Nine The Esplanade with our joint venture partner, Cbus Property. Launching this prime development is a ringing endorsement of Perth, where the supply fundamentals are the best they have been in some time, and of our world-leading development capability.

There is enormous demand for premium office space in Perth, with vacancy at 6.6 per cent as of January 2023, according to Colliers.

Ms Fallman added: “Brookfield was able to achieve 100 per cent office and retail leasing commitments at our newly completed One The Esplanade, which underscores the strength in demand for space that is additive to the workplace experience.”

In line with Cbus Property and Brookfield’s commitment to environmentally sustainable development principles, Nine The Esplanade is targeting a 6 Star Green Star rating, a 5.5 star NABERS Energy rating and IWBI WELL Gold Core certification.

The partnership’s goal is to ensure meaningful First Nations engagement, working with local Whadjuk representatives throughout the development journey to reflect First Nations peoples’ ongoing connection to the site.

Nine The Esplanade has already received development approval, with early site works commencing in Q4 2022. Construction is anticipated for completion in 2025.