Quintessential close to filling new $85 million Geelong office
Melbourne-based fund manager Quintessential Equity is close to filling an $85 million new office building in Geelong, Victoria’s second biggest city, which will become headquarters for health insurer GMHBA.
The health insurance player is the anchor tenant in at 60 Moorabool Street taking a 15-year lease term, alongside Victory Corporate Serviced Offices. Morris Finance is another confirmed tenant, with the eight-level building around 85 per cent pre-committed.
Quintessential has become a major player in Geelong’s expanding office market, having already developed a new $120 million headquarters for WorkSafe there. The earlier development is completed and now fully leased.
The Moorabool Street building will accommodate 900 employees across 11,050 sq m of net lettable area. It was designed by Cox Architecture and includes state-of-art end-of-trip facilities.
“The new WorkSafe building has put the region on the global stage and we expect GMHBA’s new headquarters to do the same,” Quintessential’s executive chairman Shane Quinn said.
“When you look at a building like this, so well located and connected to transport and road infrastructure, there’s no reason why we can’t attract businesses down to Geelong.”
Leasing deals were brokered by Colliers International’s Edward Knowles and Ben Young in conjunction with Pat Burke of MP Burke Commercial.
The Geelong economy is benefiting from a white-collar stimulus after it was hit hard by manufacturing shut-downs in recent years including the Alcoa aluminium smelter closure and Ford’s exit.
WorkSafe is among a series of state and federal government agencies to move to Geelong recently with private sector players also committing to major tenancies.
GMHBA chairman Jim Walsh said the development was testament to the organisation’s commitment to Geelong.
“This project is a significant investment and a strategic decision for GMHBA that will enable us to drive the innovation, efficiency and productivity required for our business to continue to deliver for our members.”
