Paperwork to Plate: The Rise of Brisbane’s Midtown

Build it and they will come. It is a strategy that is working for Brisbane’s midtown area, which chalked up a 46 per cent year-on-year growth in leasing deals last year. Exclusive data from Patona Property shows the net leasable area leased in 2023 was 21,132sq m compared to 30,887sq m in 2024 with some big multi-nationals calling the CBD precinct home. And that momentum has continued into 2025 with one key ingredient driving the migration, according to Patona Property head of agency James Comino ( pictured at top, on right ). “Within 50m of the intersection of Mary and Edward streets there will be half a dozen new restaurants by some of Brisbane’s best restaurateurs in addition to existing offerings,” Comino told The Urban Developer . “This pocket could very well be the most exciting restaurant and bar hub in the city, given the concentration of venues so close together.” And with that comes pulling power. The four-block CBD area roughly bounded by Elizabeth, Alice, Edward and Albert streets may not have the address appeal of Brisbane’s famed Golden Triangle but it is becoming more of a drawcard for tenants. ▲ The Midtown Centre in Brisbane has been a drawcard to the undervalued CBD precinct. Major leasing deals included ARUP’s new Brisbane headquarters, a 4500sq m uptake at 123 Albert Street, and the Queensland Government signing on 5720sq m at 155 Charlotte Street. Prime net effective rent growth was recorded at 11.1 per cent year-on-year for the first quarter of 2025. “The Midtown Precinct office vacancy for this quarter is currently at 8.6 per cent—below the CBD average,” Comino says. “When we look at the data of those tenants that committed, the largest and most notable groups, such as Rio Tinto and Boeing (collectively over 32,000sq m), decided to remain in the precinct.” Patona Property Director of Institutional and Private Markets Sam Byrne ( pictured at top, on left ) believes that capital is becoming more inquisitive about assets in Midtown as the office market outperforms. “As the precinct’s population and workforce grow, so too do trade opportunities—a shift that’s reshaping the ground plane and influencing the calibre of retailers it attracts,” Byrne says. “AsheMorgan and DMANN Corporation were quite visionary in their redevelopment and branding of the Midtown Centre, which has ultimately led to the precinct being labelled ‘Midtown’. Their investment has paved the way for further success for their peers.” The precinct is becoming compelling not only in terms of leasing deals but also for the weight of capital looking to deploy into Brisbane’s CBD market across residential, retail and office. “We are working on transactions in the Midtown precinct, where astute managers and investors see an opportunity to capitalise on the area’s transformational retail and infrastructure investment,” Byrne says. Renewal of ageing assets AsheMorgan’s award-winning Midtown Centre continues to be a major drawcard to the precinct. The $200-million project repurposed two ageing inner-city office blocks and merged them to create large floorplates and an exemplar of adaptive reuse. The Albert Street Cross River Rail station, which is due to complete in 2026, is also providing much-needed rejuvenation for the area, however QIC’s over-station commercial tower has been delayed while they chase pre-commitment. ▲ The Albert Street Cross River Rail over-station office development has hit a snag. QIC was given the go-ahead for its landmark $750-million, 40-storey office tower in the Albert Street Cross River Rail precinct in November of 2023. But the future of the tower is less certain. Construction on the tower was due to start this year and finish in 2027. The Urban Developer understands QIC is currently seeking a new anchor tenant for the office asset. Meriton’s plans for its Alice Street amalgamated site are also taking shape and would bring significant foot traffic to the midtown precinct. The Brisbane project would replace The Gardens Apartments, where high-profile developer Harry Triguboff purchased each of the 107 units in the building for $140 million in May, 2023. The plans approved by the Brisbane City Council in April were for two towers, 70 and 79 storeys, for the site at 204 Alice Street in the CBD. The developer has gone back to the council to change the above ground parking podium to increase it from five to seven levels of parking, and reducing the total number of apartments by 32, due to geotechnical issues. The changes would enable a total of 975 carparking spaces, up from 898 in the original plans. Student beds are also moving into Midtown at 150 Charlotte Street. The 19-storey office block will be adapted into 317 purpose-built student accommodation units and general amenity across the ground floor, Level 1 and Level 4, under designs by Nettletontribe. Plans have also been proposed for 131 Edward Street, the salubrious watering hole, The Stock Exchange, which would be transformed into a 38-storey mixed-use tower, comprising office, retail, food and drink, a bar and hotel accommodation. ▲ The office block at 150 Charlotte Street will be converted into student beds. Transactions tipping the scales According to CBRE there was limited transaction activity in the River City’s CBD in the first quarter of 2025. About $181 million changed hands earlier this year. NTT Corporation and Realmont acquired the remaining 50 per cent stake in 53 Albert Street from JP Morgan for $110 million in March this year, after acquiring the first stake in 2022. At the other end of the Midtown precinct Warren Ebert’s Sentinel Property Group bought into the Midtown precinct in a $72-million splash on the 15-storey RACQ House at 60 Edward Street late last year. ▲ Sentinel Property Group acquired RACQ House last year. The acquisition continues the group’s counter-cyclical investment spree as the office market starts to move. CBRE data shows prime CBD yields have stabilised at 7.06 per cent this year, down 175 basis points from their peak in 2022. The forecast for net absorption is likely to be above average in 2025 due to the completion of 205 North Quay and 360 Queen Street by the end of the year, with CBRE Research indicating a rise in total vacancy to 12 per cent. Limited new supply While buildings are transacting there is a limited number of new office developments in Brisbane’s CBD as the cost of construction and constrained capacity bite the River City. The only other major office asset to tangibly change the landscape within the CBD will be the $2.5-billion Dexus Waterfront Brisbane, which is targeting a 2028 completion of the first stage. While Dexus tinkers with pavilion design, John Holland is working towards completing the groundworks in the coming months. ▲ Dexus Waterfront Brisbane is under construction. ISPT’s ‘city-shaping’ Brisbane CBD tower was greenlit in April last year, but it is yet to commit to a construction program for the significant site. Meanwhile down the road, Hilton has exited ISPT’s hotel asset after almost 40 years at the Elizabeth Street site, and Brisbane’s first InterContinental has moved in. The Harry Seidler-designed hotel tower is to undergo a two-year renovation.

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