Dexus to kick off $2.1bn Waterfront Brisbane development, which will house Deloitte and MinterEllison staff

The office landlord is putting its stamp on the Queensland capital after securing two big tenants.

An artist's impression of the two office towers that Dexus is planning in its city-shaping Waterfront Brisbane development.

Office sector giant Dexus is steaming ahead with one of the country’s largest office projects, Waterfront Brisbane, after securing financial services firm Deloitte and lawyers MinterEllison as tenants.

The twin-tower development has been sparked by the tenants moving from other buildings and also signals the confidence that workers will stream back into central business districts in coming years.

Corporate Australia is stepping up moves to get workers back to their desks by pushing to end work from home and mask mandates. But it is also seeking out modern offices which can safely accommodate staff who want to switch to hybrid ways of working.

Dexus has reached heads of agreement with tenants across 19,300sq m to anchor the first of the two office towers in the Waterfront Brisbane project.

Deloitte has agreed terms for 12,865sq m of offices across eight floors in the north tower, and it will take up to 30 per cent more space than its current Brisbane lease at Riverside Centre, in a bullish sign that it will expand.

It will come out of the Riverside Centre in Brisbane‘s Golden Square, which is owned by GPT’s unlisted office fund.

MinterEllison, which is currently in Dexus’s Waterfront Place, will take 6,476sq m, taking up four floors in the mid-rise of the tower.

Dexus can move ahead as the deals, once finalised, account for about 28 per cent of office space in the north tower. The company‘s executive general manager, Kevin George, expects more big moves in the wake of the pandemic.
“We are seeing many organisations engage around the quality of their future workplace, and these commitments demonstrate that high quality workplaces will continue to play a key role in business strategies in a post pandemic environment,“ he said.

Deloitte managing partner, Queensland, John Greig, said the shift was about empowering workers to make choices about “the way they live and work” by providing the latest workplace design and technology.

MinterEllison chief executive Virginia Briggs said the last two years had ushered in new ways of working that have fundamentally changed how the firm operated.

The $2.1bn transformation of the Eagle Street Pier and Waterfront Place precinct has received development approval from Brisbane City Council, with construction expected to kick off in mid-year and the first office tower due for completion in 2027.

Originally published as Dexus to kick off $2.1bn Waterfront Brisbane development, which will house Deloitte and MinterEllison staff