Cbus Property receives DELWP approval for $1 billion next-generation office tower at 435 Bourke Street, Melbourne

AUGUST 2022

National award-winning integrated property investor and developer, Cbus Property, has received approval from the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) for its $1 billion commercial tower at 435 Bourke Street in Melbourne’s CBD.

Architecturally designed by the internationally acclaimed Bates Smart, the permit-approved building, to be known as 435 Bourke, will set a new benchmark for sustainable office development and design, being one of the first office towers in the world to feature a “solar skin” facade.

An evolution of the previously approved Bates Smart-designed tower, the 435 Bourke commercial precinct will amalgamate four addresses on the corner of Bourke and Queen streets – 140 and 150 Queen Street, 27 McKillop Street and 423 Bourke Street. Demolition works are underway.

Cbus Property’s Chief Executive Officer, Adrian Pozzo, said the project team was pleased to have received approval for the proposed development of 435 Bourke Street, which would optimise the four sites’ potential and serve as a “vertical village” for more than 5,500 city workers.

“Following collaborative design refinement with the City of Melbourne and DELWP, we look forward to developing another landmark project for Melbourne’s CBD,” he said.

Mr Pozzo went on to thank the councillors and The Hon. Minister Richard Wynne’s department for their endorsement of the revised proposal, saying that 435 Bourke Street would be a pioneer project for the city that would respond to a future Melbourne workforce, with a focus on sustainability, wellness, connection to the community, nature and productivity.

“Our vision is to create another world-class commercial building that represents Cbus Property’s leadership in resilient and sustainable development, while enabling a diversity of experiences and working environments that respond and adapt to evolving workplace trends,” he said.

The new tower will reinvigorate the Hoddle Grid, comprising approximately 60,000 square metres of premium commercial office space across 48 levels, with 1,300 square metres of retail space, 116 car parks and a sky garden, which will be an elevated park accessible to all tenants, providing social and collaboration spaces set within nature. Several landscaped open-air or mixed-mode terraces will
capture 360-degree views across Melbourne’s sports precinct, the Treasury and Fitzroy Gardens, Yarra River and Port Phillip Bay from the top six levels.

“In response to evolving workplace conditions in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic, we have worked diligently with Bates Smart to future-proof the design of 435 Bourke,” Mr Pozzo said.

“With people now accustomed to working in informal settings, the industry-defining sky garden, ground plane and mixed-mode terraces will set a new benchmark for diverse and naturally ventilated extensions of traditional workspaces.”

“Contributing to this new idea of a vertical campus in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD with atrium-style physical and visual connectivity, 435 Bourke will meet tenant demand for a holistic and collaborative work-life approach as a truly state-of-the-art, world’s-best-practice office tower.”

Colliers is representing Cbus Property in the office leasing campaign, with discussions ongoing with numerous potential tenants.

National Director for Office Leasing, Andrew Beasley, said that flight-to-quality buildings, such as 435 Bourke, would assist employers in not only retaining their talent pool but also attracting new and emerging talent.

“We took the time to interview major occupiers over the COVID-19 lockdown period to learn what these organisations would like to see in a new development in a post-COVID world,” he said.

“This feedback, along with the further evolution of these groups’ desire to meet high Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) aspirations, has seen Cbus Property and Bates Smart design a building that meets these objectives. Put simply, 435 Bourke Street will be a building that delivers on all facets of major tenants’ requirements for a broad diversity of workspaces, sustainable design and on-site and surrounding amenity.

“I am pleased to say that we have received extremely positive feedback from the market on the new design initiatives and have entered into genuine discussions with a number of prospective organisations, which see 435 Bourke aligning with their long-term accommodation needs.”

In line with Cbus Property’s commitment to net zero carbon (in operation) across its office portfolio, which was achieved in early 2022, 435 Bourke is also designed to achieve net zero carbon (in operation), with 20 per cent of its all-electric base building electricity requirements generated on site by its solar skin design. The balance of the building will be powered by off-site renewable electricity.

435 Bourke is also targeting a 6 Star Green Star New Buildings rating and a Platinum WELL certified rating.

Demolition of 140 and 150 Queen Street and 27 McKillop Street is complete, with demolition of 423 Bourke Street underway. Construction completion is anticipated for 2026.