ISPT has announced its first tenant partner TAL who will anchor its redevelopment of 500 Bourke Street, in which ISPT is investing $150 million for a transformational redesign that will deliver a $665-million A-Grade commercial tower and mixed-use precinct.
Australian life insurer TAL has signed a long-term lease for 6,360 square metres at 500 Bourke, including the very prominent building signage rights.
TAL’s commitment to 500 Bourke is built on its long-standing relationship with ISPT, the insurer occupying two other ISPT office properties: George Place at 363 George St, Sydney and Central Plaza at 345 Queen St, Brisbane.
ISPT Partnership Specialist Letitia Hope said: “TAL and ISPT have a strong partnership spanning many years which is built on mutual trust and respect.
“TAL’s commitment to a third ISPT precinct reaffirms this close collaborative relationship and reflects confidence in ISPT’s ability to deliver exceptional experiences through leading workplaces and ESG excellence.
TAL General Manager Performance & Expense Management Andrew Mealing said: “We are investing in our people, premises, and technology to make working at TAL a great experience.
“Our aim is to create an environment where our people can connect and collaborate and perform at their best, wherever and whenever they are working.
“For TAL Melbourne, this is an exciting time as we look to bring together our teams from La Trobe and Collins streets into one, purpose-built office.
“Our new office will feature a light and bright look and feel and mixture of rooms and spaces that best support our people and high-performance culture.”
Mealing noted that 500 Bourke’s sustainability credentials were aligned with TAL’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, which includes a focus on carbon neutrality for TAL’s operations, greenhouse gas reduction, and 100% renewable energy use by 2023.
ISPT has itself also committed to 500 Bourke with the developer and property fund manager confirming it will relocate its Melbourne workplace to the new precinct, committing to two floors totalling 2,700 square metres.
ISPT’s Leticia Hope added: “We are delighted to be making our own mark on 500 Bourke as the location for our new Melbourne workplace.
This precinct will create enriching, exciting and energising experiences to help people and organisations thrive.”
NAB – who were sole tenants of 500 Bourke – vacated in 2021, moving to an ISPT co-owned property at 405 Bourke Street, Melbourne.
This means ISPT is able to realise a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a transformational precinct that is focused on the changing nature of the commercial office and unique workplace offerings.
The resulting transformation is a new build within an existing shell, offering over 44,000 square metres of prime office space over 34 levels in the heart of Melbourne’s legal and financial precinct.
From the exterior, only the shell and façade will remain, while internally a complete overhaul of the interiors and third spaces will see 500 Bourke repositioned into a brand-new commercial building, committing to it as a core asset in the Melbourne market
Designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects, the new 500 Bourke will be a workplace like no other that focuses on attracting and retaining the best talent through inclusive, welcoming and sustainable amenity and community infrastructure.
500 Bourke will be one of ISPT’s most sustainable commitments being its largest repurposing project: investing $150 million into transforming, rather than demolishing the asset, operating from 100% renewable energy and carbon neutral from day one of construction – without the need for carbon offsets – and targeting a 6-star Green Star and 5.5 Star NABERS energy rating.
ISPT’s deliberate strategy to embrace the existing building and build on its 40-plus year legacy represents the commitment to protect and renew a vast quantity of energy and resources embedded within the asset.
ISPT General Manager Commercial Services Nicole Ward said 500 Bourke presented ISPT with a unique opportunity to repurpose rather than demolish an existing asset while treating it as a new build.
Ward said: “We knew of NAB’s intention to vacate five years ago and we worked collaboratively to relocate them to 405 Bourke Street.
“We spent a significant amount of time studying the various uses and opportunities for the site.
“We know that the most sustainable building is one that’s already been built, and the bones of the property are solid and too good to waste.
“We saw this as a unique opportunity to treat the transformation as a new build, but with a vastly accelerated construction timeline, all while ensuring the embedded carbon in the shell remains undisturbed.
“We’ve thought long and hard about what organisations of the future want from their office buildings, so we are engaging and driving amenity and curated experiences to ensure we have the most inclusive, connected and sustainable community across 500 Bourke.”
“We are reimagining the very successful dining precinct to create a multi-level, open air terraced piazza that will bring together our existing retail partners MoVida Aqui and Rosa’s Canteen along with a host of new retailers to create a stand-alone destinational precinct that will connect and breathe new life into the centre of Melbourne CBD.”
