The City of Melbourne yesterday announced plans to retrofit two-thirds of the city’s commercial buildings in a huge sustainability initiative.
The 1,200 Buildings program, the first of it’s kind in Australia, will be the largest transformation to the city in 160 years and is expected to create 800 jobs and generate $1.3 billion in economic activity.
So far, 16 corporates have signed up to managing the transformation of 30 CBD buildings with an aim to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 38 percent.
Retrofitting is designed to improve the performance of a building, with results including lower operating costs, environmental footprint and greenhouse gas emissions; improved indoor environment quality; money saved investing in energy infrastructure; and higher overall capital value of the building.
The program is supported by the Victorian Government, with Planning Minister Justin Madden approving $500,000 towards the initiative. The State Government will also work with the City of Melbourne to examine a financial option that will give building owners access to low-cost finance for retrofits.
More information on the program can be viewed here.
The following is a current list of buildings and designated corporates:
| Building | Signatory | |
| 1. | 120 Collins Street | Investa Property Group |
| 2. | 469 La Trobe Street | Investa Property Group |
| 3. | 485 La Trobe Street | Investa Property Group |
| 4. | 595 Collins Street | Investa Property Group |
| 5. | 242 Exhibition Street | Investa Property Group |
| 6. | 182 Capel Street, North Melbourne | FMSA Architecture – FMSA Construction Management |
| 7. | 406 Collins Street | www.406collins.com |
| 8. | 490 Spencer Street, West Melbourne | Synergetics Environmental Engineering |
| 9. | 530 Collins Street | The GPT Group |
| 10. | Melbourne Central Tower | The GPT Group |
| 11. | 800-808 Bourke St | The GPT Group |
| 12. | 818 Bourke St | The GPT Group |
| 13. | 500 Collins Street | Kador Group |
| 14. | 400 Collins Street | 400 Collins Street Pty Ltd |
| 15. | 131 Queen St | 131 Queen St Melbourne Owners Corporation |
| 16. | 222 Exhibition Street | AMP Capital Investors Ltd |
| 17. | 321 Exhibition Street | Cromwell Group |
| 18. | 452 Flinders Street | Stockland |
| 19. | 541 St Kilda Road | Stockland |
| 20. | 150 Lonsdale St | Charter Hall |
| 21. | 300 La Trobe St | Charter Hall |
| 22. | 1 Nicholson Street | Charter Hall |
| 23. | 200 Queen Street | Charter Hall |
| 24. | 516-520 Swanston Street | Electrical Trades Union Victorian Branch |
| 25. | 383 La Trobe Street. | ING Office Fund |
| 26. | 628 Bourke Street | ING Office Fund |
| 27. | 385 Bourke Street | Colonial First State Global Asset Management |
| 28. | 367 Collins Street | Colonial First State Global Asset Management |
| 29. | Melbourne Town Hall | City of Melbourne |
| 30. | Commonwealth Bank Building | City of Melbourne |
