$2.5 billion Waterfront Brisbane project gets a facelift before it’s even built

The developer behind the $2.5 billion Waterfront Brisbane project has made what it calls minor changes to the city-shaping project at the site of Eagle Street Pier.

Dexus lodged its changes with Brisbane City Council in an amended development application last week.

“The minor modification application currently with the council relates to minor adjustments to the design of the public realm and alignment of the riverwalk that were approved in the original development approval,” a Dexus spokesman said.

“... There are no changes to the buildings or expansion over the river, the heights, building volume etc are as originally approved.

“These minor adjustments are normal as further design and engineering work takes place.”

Demolition work at Eagle Street Pier began about two weeks ago and the Dexus spokesman said its construction timeline was on track.

Like most major projects, Waterfront Brisbane has been beset by risings costs, with $200 million added to the estimated construction bill in August.

Deborah Coakley, Dexus’ executive general manager of funds management, told a Property Council of Australia business lunch in Brisbane last week that rising costs were being felt across the country.

“Labour costs, as well as all input costs, just a general concern in the construction space and that is nationally,” she said.

Coakley said there had also been an enforced change in mindset to order building materials earlier than they had previously done.

“All good development teams are very attuned to that and they’re really understanding very early on what’s required, working with the builder to pre-procure and get set.

“People are the hardest thing to pre-procure – you can’t have them sitting in a shed somewhere waiting to come on site.”

When asked about the prospect of bringing in foreign labour, as had been done in Dubai, Coakley said short-term migration was critical to the high-scale building sector.

“It’s not a single answer; a multipronged approach is required,” she said.

“It is about making sure that our skilled migration visa list is appropriate for the vacancy and opportunity we have in this country.”

Coakley said the property industry also needed to work more closely with universities and TAFE to demonstrate career paths to young people.

ANZ senior economist Felicity Emmett said broad-based immigration would not be a panacea for the industry.

“When you look at Queensland and WA, those states had the strongest population growth through the pandemic over the past three years and they are the states with the biggest capacity constraints,” she said.

“Immigrants bring their own demand – they need a bus to catch the work, they need someone to serve them at the supermarket – that they create their own demand.

“Demography is destiny; all those people created demand in the economy. So immigration, in and of itself, is not going to help resolve the skill shortages.

“It’s really important to match the skills and make sure we’re getting all the right people in the spots where there are real shortages.”