Located in Melbourne’s The District Docklands on Waterfront Way, the recently completed DO (District Office) is designed and built to meet the evolving needs of today’s office worker.
During a challenging year, AsheMorgan was striving to define the new, contemporary office to meet the needs of the modern-day tenant. DO has achieved this with adaptable working environments including flexible and fast leasing, full modular fit-outs with kitchens, desks, meeting rooms, breakout spaces and a generous central collaboration zone called ‘The Clubhouse’.
Senior Development Manager at AsheMorgan, Mat Stoddart, says that the office isn’t dead, it’s just changing.
“Many landlords are focused on trying to reimagine what fit-outs need to be, to create genuine flexibility. Desks are still desks, chairs are still chairs, meeting rooms are still meeting rooms. The change that is needed is genuine flexibility, which we have fulfilled through District Office. All this offers a much more affordable and attractive proposition than co-working or traditional office space,” Mr Stoddart said.
Spread across more than 5,000 square metres, DO is expected to house more than 500 office workers who will have the option to travel by car, train, tram, bike or even ferry to work.
Leasing the modern, flexible working space can be turned around in two weeks, allowing new tenants to move in with pace and ease.
DO is also offering eGuarantee, a lease guarantee solution that avoids the need for a cash deposit, helping to reduce the costs to tenants of leasing a space.
While DO offers cost savings and convenience for tenants, community, access and amenity are what ultimately drive the strategic direction for the new office precinct, with spaces centred around the working experience.
The commercial space links seamlessly to the wider precinct meaning tenants have direct access to a buzzing entertainment, dining, fashion and fresh food precincts as well as a childcare outside their door.
The DO app, launching in June, will enhance the tenant experience, allowing them to manage visitors, book meeting rooms in ‘The Clubhouse’ and fulfil requests such as ordering food and drink via the app.
The first tenants to move into DO are Carl’s Jnr. Head Office and The Digital Picnic. Andrew Firn, Managing Director of Carl’s Jr QSR Group, said they looked at numerous spaces around the Melbourne City fringe and found everything ‘much of a muchness’.
“The new offices at The District Docklands really impressed us with the flexible lease terms, an easy move in process and a fantastic vibe,” he said.
“Natural light, great amenities, amazing fit out, lots of places for lunch and close access to public transport, cycle paths as well as an abundance of reasonably priced parking – we could not be happier with the move.”
Founding Director of The Digital Picnic, Cherie Clonan, added: “The hardest question to answer for a small[er] business on a rapid growth trajectory is, ‘where do you see yourself x5 years from now?’ Because growth happens fast in SME-land. That said, it’s important to know the answer in terms of picking the next perfect spot to lease from a commercial perspective.”
“We chose DO because of the flexible lease terms, and the reassurance knowing that if we outgrew our space bigger spaces are being built as we speak. My team are also pretty excited to check out the retail precinct.”
With plans for rapid growth in Docklands, AsheMorgan is also working on the ‘Meccano’ development on Waterfront Way which will add an additional four levels of commercial office space above the DO precinct on level one as well as the lobby and retail on the ground floor.