INTERNATIONAL: Brookfield Multiplex to Complete Final Stage of Melbourne Apartment Project

By Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

Leading global contractor Brookfield Multiplex has been appointed by Far East Consortium to design and build the fourth and final stage of the massive Upper West Side residential and retail development in Melbourne’s CBD.

Valued at nearly $149 million (AUD 160 million), the new 53-story building at 33 Rose Lane will provide 641 apartments, along with a large retail arcade with room for 11 tenancies, a communal swimming pool and a gym.

Scheduled for completion in November 2016, the project will target a 4 Star Green Star Multi-Unit Residential V1 Design rating, under a 2009 program released by the Green Building Council of Australia. The rating system aims to promote the design and construction of high-performance green residential developments.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the new tower is the second-largest apartment development currently under construction in Melbourne. It is surpassed only by the 730-unit, two-tower Fulton Lane project on Franklin Street that Hickory Group is building for Malaysian developer SP Setia.

Brookfield Multiplex built the first two phases of the Upper West Side complex (totaling 1,284 apartments) and is currently building the third stage, which will include 282 apartments.

Overall, Far East Consortium’s Upper West Side development will offer 2,207 apartments across four towers, 34 retail tenancies, two communal swimming pools and gyms, a function room, as well as the largest roof garden in the Southern Hemisphere. Upon completion, the entire project is slated to become one of Australia’s largest inner city developments, capable of housing approximately 4,000 people.

“Our appointment to the final stage of the development is a huge coup and demonstrates our solid relationship with Far East Consortium. The project is an important one for Victoria, as it will deliver brand-new inner city apartment stock to the growing market,” said Graham Milford-Cottam, regional managing director of Brookfield Multiplex in Victoria.

Far East Consortium’s plans in Melbourne include another four-tower residential complex on Lonsdale Street. The project will bring a total of 2,853 apartments and two hotels, one of which will be an upscale, 228-key Ritz-Carlton property.