Dexus squeezes another storey into $2.5b Waterfront Brisbane project

An extra floor could be squeezed into the $2.5 billion Waterfront Brisbane project after developer Dexus approached Brisbane City Council to seek permission to alter its approved plans.

Changes to the slabs and a reduction in the space between floors meant an extra storey could be added to the buildings with a total additional height of just 234 centimetres.

An artist’s impression of the twin-tower Waterfront Brisbane development.

It is now proposed that the taller northern tower be 50 storeys, with a height of 240.3 metres – up from 238 metres – while the now 44-storey southern tower’s height would increase from 212 to 216.1 metres.

Almost a year ago to the day, Dexus also changed the design of the public space that would form part of its project.

A spokesman said there would be no change to the floor-to-ceiling height within the buildings.

“As part of the normal design development process, we have made a number of minor amendments to the approved design,” he said.

“This includes refining the floor-to-floor heights, which has facilitated an additional floor. There is no change to the floor-to-ceiling heights, with the overall tower height increasing less than 1 per cent.”

A function space planned for the top of the northern tower has also been scrapped in favour of an additional workspace.

The net result for Dexus would be the addition of 3645 square metres of leasable commercial office space.

“Businesses are making plans for their future location, preferring high-quality, well-located buildings,” the spokesman said.

“With the first tower already 52 per cent committed four years out from completion, companies continue to show strong interest in the project.”

Work on the multibillion-dollar development is already well underway, with the Eagle Street pier demolished to make way for the towers.

A proposed CityCat terminal at the site has become a political football in the council election campaign ahead of the March 16 poll.

Greens lord mayoral candidate Jonathan Sriranganathan said this week Dexus should foot the entire bill for the terminal to free up council funds for a new terminal at West End.

LNP campaign spokeswoman Fiona Cunningham said such a move would “massively disadvantage” commuters.

The Dexus spokesman said the company had no comment about that issue.

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