Outdated office buildings are undergoing a revival, being converted to apartments to meet the demand for inner city living options, reports realcommercial.com.au.
The trend is being driven by recent developments in the Sydney and Melbourne CBD’s, however demand is so high that local and international investors are also looking to CBD fringe locations for suitable properties. Sydney currently has more than 102,000sqm of office space flagged for residential conversion.
So is there a similar market for office building conversions here in Canberra? With the announced budget cuts to the public service, we expect that some properties either in CBD or town centre locations might be freed up for conversion.
MMJ Principal Nick George says that the ACT Government is looking at policies to help stimulate the local economy and, given the effects of previous budgets, they may be considering some incentives for developers to undertake these types of conversions.