Goldfields Starts $280m, 16-Storey Office Tower in Fortitude Valley
The James Street tower moves from approval to construction nine days after the Reserve Bank lifted rates, with its reported value now $20 million lower.
Goldfields has started construction on a 16-storey office building at 88 Robertson Street in Fortitude Valley’s James Street precinct, The Urban Developer reported on 8 October. The project is valued at $280 million and delivers about 17,000 sqm of office space. ULTRA Queensland is the builder.
The tower already holds a Brisbane City Council approval. The Urban Developer reported that approval earlier under the headline “Goldfields Greenlit for $300m Brisbane Office Highrise”, so the value attached to the project has moved down by $20 million between approval and start.
Why it matters
The start comes nine days after the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate to 4.60 per cent, a decision at which Governor Michele Bullock warned the housing downturn may make it uneconomic for developers to build. Commercial projects face the same higher cost of debt, and this one is proceeding with a builder appointed and no tenant disclosed.
For builders and trades, it is a meaningful mid-rise commercial job in the Valley with a named head contractor now on site. The building is planned with end-of-trip facilities, dedicated serviced office levels, wellness space and landscaped outdoor wintergardens.
The numbers
- Address: 88 Robertson Street, Fortitude Valley.
- Height: 16 storeys.
- Office space: about 17,000 sqm.
- Value: $280 million at start, against $300 million in the earlier approval coverage.
- Builder: ULTRA Queensland.
On those figures the project works out at roughly $16,500 per sqm of office space. That is our arithmetic on the reported value and area, not a cost Goldfields has published.
The start report did not disclose a completion date, pre-commitment level or tenants.
What’s next
Watch for the anchor tenant. A pre-lease announcement is the clearest signal of whether Valley fringe office space can command the rents this build implies. See our Brisbane coverage for more of the Fortitude Valley pipeline, including the Arbory stage two office lodged nearby.