Cbus Property has lodged a development application for a $1 billion commercial tower at 435 Bourke Street that will have one of the world’s first ‘solar skin’ façades.
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Designed by Bates Smart, the revised DA is an evolution of the previously approved tower signed off in January 2020.
The modified development plans encompass four addresses on the corner of Bourke and Queen streets. The commercial precinct will amalgamate the recently demolished 140 and 150 Queen Street and 27 McKillop Street sites with the yet-to-be-demolished 423 Bourke Street site.
The “vertical village” will serve more than 5,500 city workers. The new tower proposes around 60,000 sqm of premium commercial office space across 48 levels, with 1,300 sqm of retail space, 116 car parks, a sky garden and several landscaped open-air or mixed-mode terraces.
Cbus Property’s chief executive officer, Adrian Pozzo, expects Melbourne’s commercial office market to bounce back from the uncertainty of the pandemic, with more than 800,000 sqm of prime CBD office space due to expire between 2025 and 2026.
“Future work practices are expected to trigger a flight to new developments that are able to respond to shifting tenant needs calling for a holistic and collaborative work-life approach,” Pozzo says.
“We didn’t want to design a building that would be outdated by its completion,” adds Bates Smart director Cian Davis.
“Instead, it will cater to any work setting and scenario, engage with its surroundings, be open to the neighbourhood at the ground, and achieve the best tall commercial tower performance in Australia.”
In line with Cbus Property’s commitment to net zero carbon, which was recently fast-tracked to early 2022, 435 Bourke is designed to achieve net zero carbon in operation.
“The solar skin system is made up of translucent, vertical glass photovoltaic panels that will help generate 20 per cent of the base building power,” Davis says. The balance of the building will be powered by off-site renewable electricity.
435 Bourke is targeting a 6 Star Green Star rating and a Platinum WELL certified rating. Construction commencement is anticipated for 2022.
Cbus Property, a wholly owned subsidiary of industry superfund Cbus, has more than $65 billion of assets under management.
