Southern Cross Tower, also known as 121 Exhibition Street, is a 161-metre (530 ft)

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria, Australia. The tower was built in 2004 and comprises 39 levels of office accommodation. The complex is a twin tower. The SX1 (or East tower) delivers 76,700 square meters of space over 39 floors. The SX2 (or West Tower) provides 45,200 square metres and 22 levels. The tower was once the location of Melbourne's prestigious

Southern Cross Hotel The Southern Cross Hotel was a hotel in Melbourne, Australia. It was opened by the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, on 24 August 1962 as Australia's first modern 'International' hotel, heralding the arrival of American-style glamour, the jet-set ...

History

Before development of Southern Cross, the

Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

was concerned because its key departments were scattered among more than 15 office buildings throughout the

Melbourne central business district The Melbourne central business district (colloquially known as "the City" or "the CBD", and gazetted simply as Melbourne) is the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As of the 2021 census, the CBD had a population of 54,941, and is ...

. It decided to consolidate financially and allow the bureaucracy closer access to Spring Street, giving it access to the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

. A consortium of private bodies, including

Multiplex Multiplex may refer to: Science and technology * Multiplex communication, combining many signals into one transmission circuit or channel ** Multiplex (television), a group of digital television or radio channels that are combined for broadcast * ...

and

Babcock & Brown Babcock & Brown LP (B&B) was a global investment and advisory firm, established in 1977, based in Sydney, Australia, that went into liquidation in 2009. Babcock & Brown Securities LLC is an active investment banking firm focused on equipment an ...

, suggested a skyscraper in the location of the old and derelict

. A key condition of the Victorian government's involvement in the project was its demand that the building be a state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable development.

Ownership

The building is 75 per cent owned by Multiplex Property Trust and 25 per cent owned by Multiplex Acumen Prime Property Fund. According to valuer

Jones Lang Lasalle Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) is a global real estate services company, founded in the United Kingdom with offices in 80 countries. The company also provides investment management services worldwide, including services to institutional an ...

, the building's current market value is A$130 million and its major tenant is the

Victorian State Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

Tenants

SX1 (East Tower) is occupied by the Victorian Government's Department of Justice and Regulation (DJR), some branches of the

Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions The Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR) was a department in Victoria, Australia. Commencing operation on 1 January 2019, the DJPR supported six ministers across 10 portfolios, broadly related to economic development. Along with t ...

(DJPR) and the State Revenue Office (SRO). SX2 (West Tower) is home to

Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation and also known as AusPost, is an Australian Government-State-owned enterprise, owned corporation that provides postal services throughout Australia. Australia Post's head office is loca ...

and the Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria) (EWOV).

Gallery

Image:Southern_cross_east_tower_from_little_bourke_st_and_exhibition_st.jpg, Southern Cross East Tower (SX1) from corner of

Little Bourke Street Little Bourke Street in the Melbourne central business district runs roughly east–west within the Hoddle Grid. It is a one-way street heading in a westward direction. The street intersects with Spencer Street at its western end and Spring S ...

and

Exhibition Street Exhibition Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district, Australia. The street is named after the International Exhibition held at the Royal Exhibition Building in 1880, and was previously known as Stephen Street from 183 ...

Image:Souther cross west tower.jpg, Southern Cross West Tower (SX2)

References

External links

Woods Bagot - Southern Cross, Melbourne
{{Melbourne skyscrapers Skyscraper office buildings in Melbourne Office buildings completed in 2004 2004 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in Melbourne City Centre Neomodern architecture in Australia