108 St George's Terrace Set For Change

September 01, 2010 | Office | Sustainability

Perth's iconic BankWest Tower is set to reclaim its crown as the CBD's most sought-after office address, with joint owners Brookfield and Stockland committing to a multi-million dollar refurbishment aimed at boosting the building's green credentials and providing industry-leading quality business premises.

A preview of the refurbishment, which will see extensive work undertaken on the tower at 108 St Georges Terrace in two stages, will be unveiled at a Property Council function on Friday night (September 3).

Stage One, which is already underway, will see several major refurbishment programs including new lifts and lift controls, a complete strip out and refurbishment of nine floors in the tower - including a new efficient mechanical system - together with a significant modern refurbishment of the building's lobby, new entrances to both St Georges Terrace and William Street and the provision of new and upgraded end of trip facilities.

The refurbishment of the floors will be undertaken progressively and is expected to be completed in late 2010, with the balance of the works finishing through 2011 and 2012.

Stage Two will commence upon the expiration of the BankWest lease and will continue the on-floor refurbishments, as well as some further plant and equipment upgrades.

The air conditioning and building systems upgrades are aimed at achieving significant energy savings, and work towards the goal of increasing the 53-storey tower's NABERS energy rating to 4.5 stars - which is Australian best practice.

"108 St Georges Terrace is an iconic building, and remains both the dominant and most recognisable feature of the Perth skyline and a CBD landmark," said Colliers International Director of Office Leasing Neil Kidd.

Mr Kidd said there was no doubt that today's tenants - particularly in a fast-growing and competitive market like Perth - looked for a range of features in their office accommodation.

"That includes everything from the technology, fitout and facilities in their office space, to building amenities such as the lobby and end of trip facilities, to a building's sustainability profile," he said.

"The work being done on the building covers each of these areas and will see it emerge offering some of the most sought-after prime office space in Perth, as an asset that is tailored to the needs of 21st century commerce."

The tenant focus of the refurbishment supports the results of Colliers International's recent Office
Tenant Survey, which found businesses believed issues such as cutting-edge IT, air conditioning and air quality and provision of facilities such as bike racks, showers and lockers were vital to help attract and retain staff in a competitive market.

The Survey also found tenants displayed an increased awareness of the environmental performance of their building, and were placing more importance on sustainability and energy savings when choosing office premises.

Mr Kidd said he was already fielding strong interest from the market in the nine floors currently undergoing refurbishment.

Colliers International and Jones Lang LaSalle are the joint leasing agents for the tower.

"We have five full floors of 4,000sq m available in the low rise of the tower together with limited space ranging from 200sq m up to whole floors in the high rise, which of course offer incredible views," said Mr Kidd.

"Each of the floors being refurbished is being stripped right back to the bare concrete before being fitted out with new carpets, ceiling grids, lighting and bathrooms, and then of course the upgrades to the lifts and air-conditioning systems add to the benefits on offer."

Mr Kidd said when added to impressive plans for the building's lobby - which will reposition it into a modern vibrant working lobby in which tenants will be able to network and host functions - the refurbishment would ensure the building is in high demand from the Perth office market.

"As found in the Office Tenant Survey, businesses today are very aware that the ability to offer quality office space with a central location and the best of everything in terms of amenities is what gives them an edge in the war for talent," he said.

"We saw that come into play very quickly during the last boom, where these became key factors in a business' ability to attract and hold on to good staff.

"We're now rapidly heading into that situation in the market again as the economy picks up pace - in fact we're now in a position where employment levels in the resources sector are at a higher level than they were pre-GFC, and business confidence is strengthening by the day.

"Put all that together and as you'd expect, the opportunity to secure probably the CBD's most prominent and desirable business address is already proving a strong draw even before the official launch of the refurbishment."

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For further information please contact:

Neil Kidd
Director, Office Leasing
Ph: 9261 6622
Mob: 0434 650 865
Email: Neil.Kidd@colliers.com

Fran Lawrence
Media & Communications Manager
Mob:   0434 659 904
Email: Fran.Lawrence@colliers.com

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