Oozing aesthetic appeal, with open-plan layouts and lofty light-filled spaces, warehouse office conversions are favoured by design-forward companies.
Home to many of the nation’s tech, design, and fashion labels around Australia – particularly in Melbourne and Sydney – they can be cost-effective alternatives to premium CBD digs, allowing for unique customisation, an informal cultural fit, and are generally located in city-fringe areas with easy public transport commutes.
Here are some of the best on the market right now across the nation – from former locomotive centres to wool sheds, and soft-drink factories – to house you and your cool employees.
Kensington
From iconic wool stores to “an ecosystem of work and play” thanks to architects Woods Bagot, this sustainable office and retail space at 2- 50 Elizabeth Street in Kensington, in Melbourne’s north-west, “thrills with urban energy”.
The 5.5-star NABERS energy-rated Younghusband development aims to become a 100 per cent carbon-neutral operation. There are state-of-the-art end-of-trip facilities, solar rooftop, rainwater harvesting and plenty of spaces for locking up bikes.
It mixes the best of the old with the new, with unique heritage materials, terraces, a bluestone laneway, and a town square auditorium for networking and socialising.
Keeping things vibrant, there are monthly food and artist markets year-round.
Offices range from 200 square metres to more than 15,000 square metres, with fully fitted turnkey and warm shell options available.
Everleigh
Agents describe Locomotive Workshops as “one of Sydney’s best warehouse conversions”.
The 200-year-old heritage-listed former railway workshop and yard at 2 Locomotive Street boasts stunning converted creative spaces in a community precinct, with suites for lease that suit businesses with between two and up to 100 staff.
The South Everleigh site, just a few minutes’ walk from Redfern Station in Sydney’s inner west, boasts all the wellness options like yoga and barre, plus lunch options including TV chef Kylie Kwong’s Lucky Kwong, and after work drinks at what agents describe as “Australia’s first fully sustainable bar”. There’s even a native rooftop garden.
This adaptive reuse and refurbishment offers more than 25,000 square metres of space to feel at home, featuring a fully licensed club lounge bar perfect for client meetings, soundproof meeting rooms and call booths, as well as cathedral-high ceilings.
Stanmore
Find your home at one of Sydney’s original warehouse conversions, a former ginger beer factory at suite 30/43-53 Bridge Road, Stanmore, in the city’s Inner West.
This tri-level strata suite – formerly Starkey’s ginger beer – still boasts classic period features, and spans 196 square metres with light-filled workspaces thanks to lofty five-metre ceilings.
The space is self-contained across three levels, featuring a conference/event area, an on-site café, amenities, and a secure car space available by negotiation. Floors may be leased individually or in combination, and the suite is available for immediate occupancy.
Ultimo
Nurture your business at 44 Bay Street, Ultimo, in inner-city Sydney, west of Darling Harbour, where a high-quality, thoughtful warehouse conversion of an original wool store dazzles with abundant natural light. Take up all of level one, across 550 square metres.
Bursting with character features, the “cost-effective sublease space” blends a mix of offices, meeting rooms, and open-plan workspaces just minutes from the CBD, with excellent transport connections, and a 200-metre stroll to Broadway Shopping Centre.
Nestled in the heart of the tertiary education hub, neighbours include Sydney University, University of Technology Sydney, and the University of Notre Dame Australia. Additional highlights include brand-new end-of-trip facilities, lift access, air-conditioning, and on-site parking (subject to negotiation).
Windsor
An original warehouse – stylishly refurbished and featuring timber floors, high ceilings and character – has been reimagined into a modern commercial space spanning 210 square metres at 243 Lutwyche Road, Windsor, about 15 minutes north of Brisbane’s CBD.
If you’re looking for an inspiring and creative space, the tenancy offers not one, but two open-plan areas, a kitchenette and end-of-trip facilities, with four car parks, and fabulous signage opportunities.
The office – perfect for a range of uses, including its most recent use as a tattoo parlour – boasts “exceptional accessibility” to public transport, the train station, bus routes, airport link, and more.
Cremorne
If you want ease and to bask in natural light, then look no further than 81 Green Street, Cremorne, where you can move into a fully-fitted out office space across two floors spanning 417 square metres on Melbourne’s fringe.
With neighbours like the NBL headquarters and a number of other creative businesses, the turnkey warehouse conversion will be sure to impress, and is easily accessible via train, just a few hundred metres away, while boasting on-site parking.
The landlord has engaged a high-end fitout business to update the property, which comes with workstations and furnishings, but can be re-designed to suit incoming tenants. A large boardroom and meeting rooms, plus a full kitchen and end-of-trip facilities, are ready for you.