Following a facilitation agreement with the state government, real estate investment trust company Dexus can now proceed with the development application and detailed design stage for Waterfront Brisbane.
Waterfront Brisbane is a key project in Dexus’s $8.7-billion development pipeline. It is aimed at transforming Brisbane’s Eagle Street Pier into a premium business and leisure destination.
The proposal for the $2.1-billion development includes:
- Two premium office and mixed-use towers on the Eagle Street Pier site
- A variety of riverfront restaurants, casual eateries and shops
- New and revitalised public realm, featuring around 7900 square metres of open space (including approximately 3900 square metres in the Eagle Street Pier area), incorporating a market square and steps, urban verandah terraces, an extension of the City Reach Riverwalk and a new ‘green’ corridor connecting Eagle Street to the Riverwalk
- Enhanced City Reach Riverwalk supporting cyclists and pedestrians
- Upgraded wharf facilities supporting commercial and river tourism operations with provisions to support the delivery of a new City Reach ferry terminal
- Upgrade to the Creek Street and Charlotte Street intersection to improve pedestrian connectivity
In addition to boosting tourism in Queensland, the project would also create jobs in the state. Over the next decade, it’s expected to create 1120 annual construction jobs on average, with an additional 916 operational jobs supported once construction has completed.
“This is a landmark project that’s estimated to provide a $5.7 billion boost to Queensland’s Gross State Product (GSP) over the next 40 years, including $230 million in value add to our state’s construction and professional services sectors,” Minister for State Development Cameron Dick said in a media statement.
Dexus, who owns Australia’s largest office towers, anticipates the required code-compliant applications will be submitted to Brisbane City Council by mid-2020.
The company’s Chief Investment Officer Ross Du Vernet said, “This is a significant milestone that unlocks the considerable potential in this Brisbane CBD gateway site which has sat under-developed for almost 30 years.”
Delivery of the project will be staged and subject to the leading property group securing the relevant approval. Eagle Street Pier site’s construction is expected to commence in 2022 and the first tower to be delivered in 2026.