A multimillion-dollar refurbishment and re-positioning of Canberra's tallest office building has received a major boost with the exchange of an unconditional contract to acquire of a neighboring property set to increase the range of value-adding options available to Cromwell.

The planned refurbishment of Lovett Tower at Woden, in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), is now undergoing an extensive review after Cromwell secured the adjoining Borrowdale House property.

Cromwell believes the weak Canberra leasing market and departure of the major tenant in Lovett Tower next year provides a good opportunity to reposition the asset in preparation for a recovery in demand for high quality space in one of the city's main business precinct.

When completed, the acquisition of Borrowdale House provides the opportunity to significantly improve Lovett Tower's carpark ratio which would underpin Cromwell's efforts to secure new tenants.

The property includes a largely empty two-level office building and has one small retail tenant. The building, which sits on a 2,028 sqm site, was acquired for $7.6 million and had previously been earmarked for residential development.

Aggregating the properties into a single holding will create a combined site of more than 3,200 sqm and provides a range of new development opportunities.

Cromwell has built a strong reputation for delivering major asset transformations and will look to replicate the success of projects like the Qantas Global Headquarters in Sydney and 321 Exhibition Street in Melbourne.

Lovett Tower is centrally located within the Woden Town Centre, adjacent to the Westfield Shopping Centre and with primary frontage to Keltie Street and siding Woden Square.

Key priorities for the refurbishment will be returning the building to Property Council of Australia (PCA) A-grade standard and targeting a 4.5 star NABER energy rating. Planning is underway to reinvigorate the building entrance and building façade.

Additional amenity will be introduced, including large end of trip facility to cater for and encourage an active workforce.

Originally built to a high standard in 1974 the tower comprises a ground floor foyer, retail tenancies, 22 upper levels of office accommodation and a single basement level with 18 car spaces.

Final plans for the refurbishment are expected to be released later this year.

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