Plan to transform Brisbane CBD office tower into student lodging

A CBD office building sold for almost $65 million in April is set to be transformed into student accommodation, with plans for the conversion submitted to Brisbane City Council this week.

The tower at 150 Charlotte Street, with tenants including the Australian Passport Office and Boeing Defence Australia, was sold by Australian Unity for $64.5 million on April 18, after it bought the site for almost $106 million in 2017.

Urbis said the conversion from office space to student accommodation at 150 Charlotte Street was “reflective of current market trends and Brisbane’s housing crisis”.Credit: Nick Lenaghan

The former Energex headquarters was 100 per cent occupied at the time of Australian Unity’s purchase, with more than 75 per cent of rental income coming from the federal government and Boeing.

The tower had average lease expiry of about 8½ months as of the end of 2023, Australian Unity fund manager Nikki Panagopoulos told the Australian Stock Exchange at the time of last month’s sale.

The new plans for the site, submitted by Sumner Innovate, were lodged with the council on Wednesday.

If approved, the building would be fitted out with 371 purpose-built student accommodation units.

In an assessment report submitted to the council on Sumner’s behalf, town planning firm Urbis said the project would be able to deliver much-needed student accommodation offerings to the market in a relatively short time.

“This adaptive reuse significantly reduces construction timeframes and removes barriers to market,” Urbis said.

“Importantly, through the repurposing of an existing tower, the proposal also advances the agenda for sustainable development and leverages the significant growth opportunities for Brisbane’s CBD, to provide a sustainable and highly connected proposal.”

Urbis said the conversion from office space to student accommodation was “reflective of current market trends and Brisbane’s housing crisis” and was ideally located for its proposed new use.

“Future residents will benefit from direct and convenient access to a range of educational establishments,” Urbis said.

“Queensland University of Technology, Central Queensland University Brisbane campus, James Cook University Brisbane campus and University of Queensland Brisbane City, as well as a range of international institutes, are located within walking distance of the site.

“The site also has immediate proximity to the Albert Street Cross River Rail train station, located less than 150 metres from the site, as well as a range of high transit bus networks.”

Comment has been sought from Sumner.

As the proposal was changing the primary use of the building, it was considered “impact assessable”, meaning it would have to go out for public consultation before it could get council approval.

Assuming the project went ahead, it would not be the first Brisbane CBD office tower to be retrofitted into student accommodation.

Almost a decade ago, Student One announced plans to convert Boeing House, on the corner of Adelaide and Wharf streets, into student accommodation.

Last year, developers Brookfield and Citiplan lodged plans for a 31-storey student accommodation tower at 240 Margaret Street, about 200 metres from the Charlotte Street site.