Brisbane’s landmark Santos Place office tower has recently had 3,330sqm leased by Charter Hall. This comes as government, legal and resource tenants fuel activity in the city’s North Quarter precinct.

The 32 Turbot Street tower saw The Federal Government’s Department of Health secure 1,110sqm of space on a five-year term. Anchor tenant Santos secured the remaining 2,220sqm of space after striking a seven-year lease commitment.

Appointed leasing agents CBRE and Knight Frank have steered the successful 32 Turbot Street leasing campaign on behalf of Charter Hall. The deals follow an earlier 1,700sqm ten-year lease agreement to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

CBRE’s Gerry Leyden noted that the recent ‘flight to quality’ trend in the Brisbane CBD heightened interest in the remaining 6,000sqm of available space. Evolving workplace needs are seeing occupiers seeking buildings with strong technology overlays, base building amenity and efficient floorplates.

“These trends were already apparent pre COVID-19 but have gained added momentum in the past year, which is likely to result in the vast majority of active CBD tenant demand gravitating to prime office offerings in 2021,” Mr Leyden said.

“The greatest challenge for landlords in attracting new occupiers is the ability to demonstrate building attributes such as base build technology, wellness initiatives and asset amenity which supports new ways of working.”

Santos Place office tower is regarded as one of the benchmark prime grade buildings in Brisbane’s North Quarter precinct.

Knight Frank’s Jamie Nason said increasing business confidence and sentiment drove the building’s leasing success came amid a rebalancing in Brisbane leasing conditions in 2021.

“We anticipate that a series of major occupiers will re-enter the marketplace this year considering both their physical premises and new workplace strategies,” he said.

Mr Nason also noted what while lease transaction volumes had dipped, the prime grade sector in Brisbane’s CBD market was the most resilient, with 20 new transactions completed during 2020 amid COVID-19.

“As we move further into 2021, we’re buoyed by the prospect of some major transactions being completed over the coming months, which will provide a level of market momentum not seen for 18 months,” he said.