Amazon opens Collins Street door to office of the future
Building has begun for Amazon’s new corporate headquarters at a prime address on Melbourne’s Collins Street, kicking off a $1.5 billion commercial project and restoring faith in the enduring importance of CBD workplaces.
Amazon’s shift delivers an immediate boost to the state economy as it takes up the anchor tenancy in the first of two towers at 555 Collins Street being developed by Charter Hall. That decision is the catalyst for more than 1500 jobs to be created during construction of the first tower, which will itself accommodate about 4500 workers once built.
The global tech giant is already spurring development in the state, with its expansion into a second fulfilment centre in Melbourne’s west and its decision to launch a new Amazon Web Services cloud infrastructure region in Melbourne next year.
The Collins Street move also comes as a salve to the commercial office sector, which has been battered by predictions that the widespread embrace of working from home has sounded a death knell for the traditional CBD office workplace.
That is not so, according to Adam Beavis, Amazon Web Services managing director for Australia and New Zealand.
“We recognise the way we work has been changed forever by the pandemic,” he said in remarks prepared for the start of construction work at the Collins Street site.
“As Melbourne emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are looking forward to gradually returning to an office-centric culture as our baseline.
“We believe it enables us to invent, collaborate and learn together most effectively.”
Charter Hall, led by managing director David Harrison, secured the 15,000sq m pre-commitment from Amazon late last year as Melbourne emerged from its long second lockdown.
It was enough for Charter Hall to begin building the first $750 million tower on a large site it has amalgamated. The first 48,000sq m tower will eventually be followed by a second 32,000sq m tower. Also working on the project are Cox Architecture, global design practice Gensler and Lendlease Constructions.
Charter Hall’s chief executive for office, Carmel Hourigan, took up the theme, urging government and business leaders “to show leadership and bring their staff back into offices” in her remarks to the gathering.
“Clearly there are some benefits to home-based office work, however, to maintain productivity, collaboration and learning, and to preserve the corporate culture, it is critical employees return to the office for the majority of their working week,” she said.
“Australia is now in the position to write the play book for CBD revival, given we are among the first in the world to emerge from the pandemic”.
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