$800m Tower Construction Speculation

By the Editorial Team · Thursday, July 2, 2026

Charter Hall is set to begin construction on a new $800 million, 26-storey office tower called No. 1 Brisbane at 60 Queen Street, aiming to start work before the end of the year. This development is expected to help alleviate Brisbane’s CBD office shortage and attract major tenants like Energy Queensland, PwC Australia, and Telstra, with completion anticipated well before other ongoing projects.

Charter Hall is reportedly preparing to commence construction on a new $800 million office tower at 60 Queen Street, located at the top of Brisbane's Queen Street Mall, potentially before the end of this year. The project, often referred to as No. 1 Brisbane, proposes a 26-storey premium A-grade office building spanning approximately 26,000 square meters on the corner of George Street.

The development site currently comprises three adjoining B-grade retail and office buildings at 217 and 231 George Street and 60 Queen Street, all of which have issued vacant possession notices to existing tenants. Leasing interest is reportedly strong, with several high-profile potential occupants under consideration. Government-owned electricity provider Energy Queensland is believed to have a significant uptake requirement of around 16,000 to 18,000 square meters for its Central Business District (CBD) presence, with plans to relocate by 2030. Other prospective tenants include professional services firms such as PwC Australia, located nearby at 480 Queen Street, telecommunications company Telstra, as well as several law firms including McCullough Robertson, McInnes Wilson, and Cooper Grace Ward.

The new tower, if realized, would address a noted office supply shortage in Brisbane’s CBD. Currently, the only other major office development underway is Dexus’ Waterfront Brisbane project, an estimated $2.5 billion investment expected to be completed by late 2028 or early 2029. Additionally, there is speculation that QIC may soon begin construction on its own $750 million office building at 101 Albert Street.

Charter Hall acquired the site in 2018 for $94 million, inheriting previous approval for a much larger project: an 81-storey, 534-apartment tower. Those earlier plans were abandoned, and a sale attempt in 2021 did not secure a buyer. The current proposal, designed by Blight Rayner, is scaled back and includes a basement supermarket alongside street-level retail frontages on Queen Street Mall, George Street, and Burnett Lane.

Meanwhile, the valuation sector in Brisbane has seen a significant shift, with Valuation Services Queensland (VSQ) departing Knight Frank after 28 years to join Herron Todd White (HTW). Led by Paul Kwan, Peter Zischke, Tim O’Sullivan, and Richard Nash, the VSQ team—comprising approximately ten valuers based largely in Brisbane’s Gold Tower—has moved into HTW, Australia’s largest independent property valuation and advisory firm. This acquisition enhances HTW’s capabilities across institutional property, health and aged care sectors, major commercial assets, fund management portfolios, and private credit services. The move follows recent leadership changes at HTW, including the appointment of Peter Maloney as CEO five months ago, who has been driving a strategic expansion of the company.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.