Not without its controversies, 80 Ann Street is establishing itself as one of Brisbane’s most discussed developments. With Suncorp having announced that it will take close to 40,000 sqm in this $800 million Mirvac tower, it also hosts one of the city’s largest leasing deals in more than a decade.

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The Design

Designed by Woods Bagot, the commercial building will span one whole city block and plans to connect Turbot and Ann Streets via new cross block linkages.

This sophisticated 32-story office building both pays tribute to the local history and provides a progressive solution for the city’s subtropical climate. Fashioned as a tower-on-podium, it will be built within a historical business district and house the heritage-listed Turbot Street Fruit Market within its street-level-floors. Taking cues from the early 20th-century site’s original roof form, the 5,500 sqm area designated for retail and studio spaces protects the authentic edifice and mitigates wind and rain with a glazed canopy. The podium is publicly accessible from three different points and includes indoor landscaping to alleviate pedestrian traffic and create a friendly environment.

The Tower

The tower is conceived as a vertical community with two parallel volumes connected by atriums and outdoor terraces. The design embraces the climate by allowing cooling breezes inside with operable windows and natural air ventilation systems. So that employees are comfortable, a double-glazed treatment was integrated into its exterior to ward off the harsh sun. Companies that inhabit floors with access to internal green spaces can also create an indoor-outdoor environment when weather allows.

Both the tower and podium have enhanced setbacks to increase the amount of natural light that penetrates the internal floor space and is aiming for a 6 Star Green Star rating.

The Business

With the Suncorp deal in place and an announcement to the ASX, Mirvac said that it had entered into an agreement to sell 50 per cent of the tower to British fund manager M&G Property’s Asian property fund. The deal, worth $418 million on a 5 per cent cap rate, will see M&G fund 50 per cent of the construction and development costs of the tower.

Now that a major tenant has been secured, Mirvac has exercised a put-and-call option with Singaporean developer Wee Hur for $79 million for the 5,500 sqm site. Wee Hur had previously received a permit for a 36-storey student accommodation tower on the site.

The Suncorp lease was fiercely sought-after, with Mirvac beating out Charter Hall and Investa’s 360 Queen Street and ISPT’s Regent Tower for the lease. Suncorp will take up 66 per cent of the tower – 39,600sq m – for a 10-year term and move into its new Brisbane location by September 2022.

80 Ann Street, Brisbane – Designed for Mirvac by Woods Baggot

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Resource 1: Woods Baggot
Resource 2: Brisbane Developments
Resource 3: The Urban Developer