Real estate heavyweight Charter Hall
(ASX:CHC) has inked a deal to accommodate postal services provider Australia Post’s new home base outside of the Melbourne CBD.
Under the agreement, the mail and parcel giant will become a new tenant in a prospective office building worth $130 million at 462-482 Swan Street in the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond.
A development project has been planned for the land block under the ownership of the Agosta family. The landlord has received authorities’ green light to construct a 13-storey office complex. Construction is expected to be completed in time for Post Australia’s move in 2024
The site has a highly convenient and accessible location connected to other parts of the city via Melbourne’s high-intensity eastern railway network. The successful lure of a high-profile institutional tenant such as Post has the potential to trigger a new trend of exiting the expensive and densely populated city centre.
Australia Post’s migration of headquarters to suburban Melbourne will effectively mark the first major corporate departure from the city centre in the post-pandemic era. The relocation is tipped to reduce rental expenses by around 33 per cent, lifting the company’s net earnings.
Shares in Charter Hall
(ASX:CHC) are trading 0.2 per cent lower at $13.63
