New Brisbane commercial building The Eminence almost fully leased despite coronavirus

Located in McLachlan Street, the building has 3653 square metres of commercial space and 372 square metres of retail, with the final available spaces currently under negotiation.

Mosaic founder and managing director Brook Monahan said opening during the pandemic was less than ideal, but the impact had proved to be minimal.

“It’s now humming. All the businesses in there are back to full capacity with all of their staff,” he said.

“We actually have a lot of demand for the remaining space on level three. We’re talking to various parties at the moment.”

Mr Monahan said the boutique nature of the building, including its high-end fit-out, end-of-trip facilities and sky terrace, meant its desirability with tenants remained robust during the uncertainty of the lockdown.

Indeed, while the concept was conceived long before the crisis, he said boutique commercial assets such as this one were perfectly designed for the future of office and retail leasing.

“There’s only five levels of office … it’s boutique in a highly desirable location, done really beautifully,” Mr Monahan said.

“There’s massive demand, even despite COVID, for that small-to-larger business that doesn’t need 5000 square metres and is looking anywhere from 250 to 1000 square metres – that’s our sweet spot.

“They’re looking for quality, for higher end, maybe not quite as much floor space as they had previously, and they’re looking for the best locations where all the cool restaurants and coffee shops are and where everyone wants to be.”

Mosaic is the anchor tenant in The Eminence, with retail businesses including a design firm, an accountancy and advisory group as well as a coffee shop and restaurant operator on the ground floor.

Commercial tenants include a digital marketing group, a funds management business, a law firm and a property agency, Mr Monahan said.

The Mosaic Property Group is set to deliver nearly half a billion dollars’ worth of developments across south-east Queensland over the next 18 months.

Developments under construction include residential projects from the Gold Coast to the Sunshine Coast, with a number already sold out off the plan.

Mr Monahan said not only had demand from buyers been ramping up since June, the company recorded its strongest July on record.

Coastal top-end apartments were particularly popular with local buyers, he said.

“Definitely the premium end of the market has been the quickest to respond … we’ve actually had a higher percentage of localised buyers than ever before,” Mr Monahan said.

“I think spring through to early next year, we’re going to see a lot of genuine buyers coming through from Sydney and Melbourne … but our local buyer profile has been really high.”

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Commercial Real Estate – 3/8/2020