Project Details

Since November 2010, the Commonwealth Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 has required most lessors of commercial office space leases over 2,000m2 to advertise the NABERS energy rating of the building to prospective tenants, in order to assist tenants with their selection of an office. This change in legislation, combined with the increased price of electricity has resulted in owners placing a new level of consideration on the operational performance of existing buildings, particularly the efficiency of building services such as ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, and hot water.

DEXUS Property Group, a client of epm Projects, hold a portfolio of over $6.6bn in office property in Australia and was among the first to respond to this new environment. DEXUS have embarked upon a significant program of capital works, aiming to achieve a portfolio average of 4.5 star NABERS energy rating, by 2012. In late 2010, EPM was engaged by DEXUS to provide project management services for tendering and construction on a number of these projects, involving the upgrade and retrofit of services and systems in existing buildings.

Upgrade projects commence with the preparation of a Strategic Improvement Plan, commissioned by DEXUS, which considers the NABERS impacts of a variety of possible upgrade options. EPM has worked with DEXUS on investigating the feasibilities of each option within the constraints of the existing sites, and on the delivery of the selected options, including developing packages of work and procurement methods. A considerable amount of work is completed in and around occupied tenancies during the projects, requiring EPM to carefully manage the co-ordination between tenants, building managers, and multiple contractors. EPM’s work for DEXUS has included projects at the following sites:

• Zenith Centre, Chatswood
• 112 Talavera Rd, North Ryde
• 11 Talavera Rd, North Ryde
• 44 Market St, Sydney
• 60 Miller St, Sydney
• 130 George St, Parramatta
• 1 Farrer Place, Sydney
• Gateway Building, 1 Macquarie Place, Sydney