OK for Melbourne Quarter tower

Lendlease’s Melbourne Quarter project is well underway, with the first commercial tower under construction, while the second has been recently approved by the State Government.

Planning Minister Richard Wynne last month approved Melbourne Quarter’s second commercial tower, which will be the precinct’s largest office tower with approximately 55,000sqm of office space and 2500sqm of retail space.

The second 28-storey Melbourne Quarter Tower on Collins St will be the centrepiece of the development, linking Docklands and the CBD with a laneway between Collins and Flinders streets.

Leadlease’s managing director for urban regeneration, Mark Menhinnitt, said Melbourne Quarter would continue Docklands’ transformation into a lively and dynamic destination.

“Surrounded by a high concentration of leading national and global enterprises, we have seen a commercial shift towards this part of Collins St at the heart of the Southern Cross precinct,” he said.

Seven commercial and residential buildings are planned at Melbourne Quarter and, once complete, the area will offer about 130,000sqm of office space for more than 12,000 workers.

The first office building, One Melbourne Quarter, is under construction and a crane has arrived at the site.

One Melbourne Quarter will be home to Melbourne’s first sky park, an ecological open space 10m above the street level.

“The hero of the new precinct, the sky park, will complement Melbourne Quarter’s leading workplace design, offering workers the ability to re-charge or work outside the office, enhancing their health and wellbeing. This is a key trend in global workplace design,” Mr Menhinnitt said.

“Melbourne Quarter’s towers and precinct public domain will provide a more holistic and human-centric approach to office designs for businesses and their most important assets – their people – rather than focusing on just physical infrastructure.”

A new public square will be built on Collins St and will be surrounded by restaurants and bars.

Lendlease will consolidate its headquarters to One Melbourne Quarter when the construction is finished.