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Christine Lacy

Coronavirus scare at Melbourne corporate HQ

Christine Lacy
Peter Costello’s Future Fund is one of the tenants of 120 Collins Street. Picture: David Geraghty.
Peter Costello’s Future Fund is one of the tenants of 120 Collins Street. Picture: David Geraghty.

Coronavirus has struck at the heart of Melbourne’s top end of town, with a security guard at the prestigious 120 Collins St skyscraper testing positive to the highly-contagious virus.

The building’s tenants, which include the James Shipton-led Australian Securities and Investments Commission and investment banks Rothschild, Citigroup and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, were on Tuesday sent into crisis mode as the building’s owner Investa Property Group informed them of the unfolding situation.

Tenants, which also include ratings agency Standard & Poors, executive headhunting group Korn Ferry and the Peter Costello-chaired Future Fund, were notified of the confirmed case via email around midnight Tuesday by the building’s general manager Toni Prantzos.

By Wednesday morning office workers were being told by their employers to stay away from the building, which is at the top, or so-called Paris end, of Collins Street, opposite the 101 Collins Street tower of power.

As of Wednesday morning, however, the 52-storey building had not been officially locked down.

The 120 Collins Street skyscraper.
The 120 Collins Street skyscraper.

Investa told tenants that the security guard had been confirmed positive on Tuesday night, after first experiencing symptoms on March 15.

“We are taking all necessary precautions to minimise the risk to tenants,” Prantzos said in the email.

“Overnight we will complete a thorough deep clean of the entry points, all lift cars, goods lift, lift lobbies, service corridors loading dock, shared bathrooms, end of trip and bike storage.

“In the best interests of all building occupants, (we) have directed that all security staff vacate the building and self-isolate.”

However, a spokeswoman for Investa told Margin Call this morning that “120 Collins Street remains open and in line with Investa’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Plan”.

“Building management responded quickly, implementing a range of precautionary measures overnight,” she said.

A new security team has also now been deployed into the building.

Still tenants weren’t taking any chances, with many corporates telling staff to work from home, with no-one permitted to return to the office until further notice.

Christine Lacy
Christine LacyMargin Call Editor

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/margin-call/coronavirus-scare-at-melbourne-corporate-hq/news-story/f816109cdc220e3a03ac7ad72b07214c