Multiplex Chosen for $2.8B Melbourne Development

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

Melbourne Square

OSK Property has appointed Multiplex, a Brookfield company, to deliver the first stage of its iconic $2.8 billion Melbourne Square development in Melbourne, Australia.

When completed, the development will be one of the largest mixed-use precincts in central Melbourne. Melbourne Square will consist of six towers ranging from 38 to 73 levels in height, with four of the towers acting as residential units and containing approximately 2,610 apartments. There’s also a 621-key hotel and an approximately 520,000-square-foot commercial tower.

“We are delighted to play a pivotal role in this exciting project which will see a city block revitalized to become a vibrant vertical village,” Graham Cottam, Multiplex’s regional managing director of Victoria, said in a company profile. “Melbourne Square will further activate Southbank and deliver much-needed green open space and amenities to the precinct.”

Stage one, entailing a $490 million investment, comprises a pair of residential towers above an eight-level retail podium, which is set to include a supermarket, specialty stores and cafes. The 54- and 69-floor high-rise towers will provide a total of 1,043 units.

The first stage also includes a terraced podium providing more than 39,000 square feet of public space, including landscaped parkland and a retail precinct at the base of the towers.

Amenities in Melbourne Square will include a retail center, food and beverage precinct, child care center and extensive public parkland with cascading water features and piazzas that will be the largest in the area.

The property, designed by Cox Architects, is located in the heart of Southbank and connected by Power, Kavanagh and Balston streets. The towers have a bold pleated façade, maximizing light and giving the impression of a widening of the external skyline views.

A busy year for Multiplex

Over the past year, Multiplex has been active in the area, completing numerous new residential projects in the Melbourne CBD including Hengyi Pacific’s Light House, ICD Property’s Eq.Tower and Salvo Property Group’s Platinum Tower.

It also has several residential projects set for completion including LK Property Group’s Capital Grand, Fragrance Group‘s Premier Tower, Central Equity’s Southbank Central and Hengyi Pacific’s Swanston Central in Carlton.

Last month, Multiplex announced it would develop a $64.8 million (AUD $81 million) world-class biomedical learning and teaching building for Australia’s Monash University at its Clayton campus in Victoria. The company is also constructing a new $164.9 million (AUD $206 million) Learning and Teaching Building at the University, which will include a large underground parking facility and regional transport interchange.

Construction of Melbourne Square’s first stage is expected to be completed in August of 2020.

Image courtesy of Multiplex