Union Tower the latest project to top out
JSK Group recently celebrated the 'topping out' of its Union Tower residential project at 296-300 Little Lonsdale Street at a ceremony attended by its project partners PDS Group, Watpac and RotheLowman.
The $45m project which comprises 165 apartments across 35 levels and has been designed by architects RotheLowman, represents JSK Group's first Australian development.
In light of the project's success, JSK Group plans to accelerate its investment into the Australian property market by expanding its portfolio nationally. According to JSK Group this is in response to growing demand from buyers from Asia, who are increasingly shifting their focus away from European markets to Australian shores.
The development posed a number of logistical challenges for the project team, not least of which is the 400 sqm site's constrained footprint impacting on the ability to access to the site for the delivery and transport of materials, and mobility of construction vehicles and machinery within a busy city environment.
With the topping out ceremony done and dusted project manager PDS Group's attention turns towards the pending completion of construction and settling the apartments, which are now 100% sold.
Union Tower joins the nearby 399 Little Lonsdale Street, which is nearing completion and will inject 478 3 and 4 star hotel rooms for Ibis and Novotel respectively, into an area that has seen intense development activity over the last 5 years.
What they say
Union Tower has been fantastic. It’s going well. We pretty much sold out in the first two to three months of commencing our sales campaign, and construction is on track. The building is looking great, and we are delighted to have marked our first topping out with our team of local consultants.
We will be investing more resources into the Australian market, as we feel Europe is unstable due to Brexit and, accordingly, has seen a reduction in pricing for apartments in London. Prices, of course, are still very expensive because of the limited space in London however we tend to find that our buyers, especially from Asia, are shifting their focus away from Europe and returning to Australia and Asia. So that is where we will focus our resources into 2018.
We have built houses, townhouses and apartments in Malaysia and in China, however this will be the first time we have ventured into townhouses and houses in Australia. We are looking forward to offering a new range of products
Meeting complex challenges and delivering innovative outcomes for our clients is a skill our dedicated team bring to every project, and Union Tower has been no exception. I commend the Watpac team for their ability to reach this milestone on schedule, while successfully managing the physical and logistical challenges presented by working in a constrained inner-city site.
Now that the structure is complete, we look forward to continuing our high standard of work to deliver this exceptional project for JSK Group later this year.
- Nick Pavlovic, Watpac Construction Victorian State Manager
Working with JSK Group on its first Australian development has been very successful for both of companies. A strong working relationship has delivered a successful project. Union Tower is an elegant glass building designed in the round and delivers high quality apartments, many of which are corner located. We look forward to completing the project now that structural top out has been successfully achieved on time by Watpac.
- Shane Rothe, Founding Principal RotheLowman
