Renovation of Central Village offices, previously Finlay Crisp Centre, nears completion at Constitution Avenue, Canberra

Previously known as the Finlay Crisp Centre, Central Village comprises three buildings - Nara Centre, Allara House and 5 Constitution Avenue - that will be connected by a revitalised outdoor plaza on the ground floor.

The refurbishment of Allara House and Nara Centre is now complete and both are fully tenanted by ACT government departments on 20-year leases.

Meanwhile, renovations continue at 5 Constitution Avenue, the 12-storey building formerly known as Customs House, which will be available for lease upon completion in the third quarter of 2022.

Singapore-based investment firm SC Capital paid $62 million for the three buildings in 2019 with a view to redeveloping the site in partnership with Sydney-based asset manager Artifex Property Group.

The site is located next to Constitution Place, which was developed by Capital Property Group and opened in 2021.

Artifex partner Nick Timmins said the redevelopment aims to create a more inviting area for city workers.

"What we wanted to create is an aspirational environment that people want to visit and they don't get at home," he said.

"The plaza previously was quite introverted, whereas now we've created quite a green, peaceful type of environment that connects to the surrounding precinct."

Luxury ground floor lobby design, end-of-trip facilities, destination control lifts and amenities with touchless fittings are all part of the renewal. Two food and beverage outlets will also open in the complex, where previously there were none.

Once complete, 5 Constitution Avenue will hold a 4.5-star water and energy rating under the National Australian Built Environment Rating System. Rooftop solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations have been added throughout the complex.

MORE PROPERTY NEWS:

JLL's Andrew Balzanelli and Troy McGuinness have been appointed to lease 5 Constitution Avenue and will target government and corporate tenants to fill the 12,000 square metres of lettable space.

"We're adjacent to the administrative heart of the ACT, we're close to a number of key Commonwealth departments and agencies, and so we'll be targeting legal, consultancy, finance and service providers, IT," Mr Balzanelli said.

"There'll be government agencies that also want to be in good quality office accommodation."

Strong demand for Canberra office space was evident in the most recent office market report by the Property Council of Australia.

In the six months to February 2022, Canberra's overall office vacancy rate dropped to 6.2 per cent, while vacancy across A-grade offices was the lowest in Australia at 2.4 per cent.

Despite the strong numbers of tenancies in place, February occupancy data revealed physical attendance in offices was sitting at 21 per cent of the pre-COVID rate.

Mr Timmins said offering "aspirational" environments was a key factor to getting more people back into the office.

"We speak with a lot of CEOs across a lot of businesses and I think most of them are very keen to get their employees back in the office to boost productivity, to get face-to-face culture coming back, to mentor young people in the workplace," he said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: