Cbus Property appoint Hutchinson Builders to finish its 443 Queen St apartment tower

The developer behind collapsed construction giant Probuild’s partly-built Brisbane apartment tower project has appointed a leading private builder to finish the job.

Hutchinson Builders appointed to finish off Cbus Property 443 Queen St tower.

A $375m high-end apartment tower that sparked one of Australia largest ever construction company collapses will finally be finished after its developer appointed a new contractor to complete the “final phase”.

Cbus Property said on Monday that Hutchinson Builders will deliver the 47-storey “paradise in the air” riverfront tower at 443 Queen St in the Brisbane CBD.

Two months ago tradies downed tools and walked off the site when construction giant Probuild collapsed putting in jeopardy $5bn worth of projects around Australia.

Construction had started on 443 Queen St in August 2017 and overall losses for the apartment project will top $100m.

Cbus Property’s chief executive Adrian Pozzo said preliminary works at 443 Queen St started three weeks ago.

“Cbus Property, together with Hutchinson Builders, continues to finalise subcontractor negotiations and prepare a revised construction program,” he said.

“Once finalised, we will provide an update to purchasers with a more definitive completion timeline.”

An artist’s impression of 443 Queen St.

Probuild’s South African parent company Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (QBHO) pulled the financial pin on its Australian arm which included Probuild in late February and went into voluntary administration through Deloitte Australia.

Over a four-year period WBHO Australia had $223m in material losses mainly from the 443 Queen St and the Western Road Upgrade Project in Melbourne. In the financial current year losses stood at $91m.

The apartment project at 443 Queen St has been tangled up in controversy from the moment it was launched in 2014 on a riverfront site next to heritage-listed Customs House.

Work was scheduled to have been completed in late 2020 and, after multiple missed deadlines, and before Probuild’s collapse it was scheduled to wrap up in late 2022.

Hutchinson Builders’ director Russell Fryer confirmed that the contractor was on

site at 443 Queen St, with initial works underway.

“We have a long and proud history delivering similar premium high-rise residential projects

across Australia,” he said.

“We are working closely with Cbus Property, the consultants, subcontractors and suppliers to successfully complete this landmark building for Brisbane.”