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Welcome back to The Dirt, Australia’s go-to news brief for the drama, deals, and decisions shaping Australia's built world.

Today’s brief:

🏗️ Fraser Brown drops $250M on Clyde North land blockbuster
🎟️ Live Nation takes on Perth with new 3,000-capacity venue
🏢 Adelaide’s office tower sells for $50.5M as the cycle shifts

Here’s what’s moving 👇

🏗 Project Pulse

Sydney’s first skyscraper reopens — in green glory
33 Alfred Street — Sydney’s first skyscraper — has officially reopened after a three-year upgrade. The 26-storey icon is now Premium Grade, with a 6-Star Green Star rating and 5.5 Star NABERS Energy. Dexus and Mirvac led the revamp, blending heritage charm with modern smarts. Another big win for the Quay Quarter precinct, now humming post-COVID: Commo.

Stockland’s $250m South Freo push
Stockland is rolling out 206 all-electric homes at its South Fremantle site — a $250m bet on smart, green living. Solar, batteries, EV chargers, automation — this one’s all about future-proofed housing. First move-ins expected mid-2026. The message? Perth’s market is flying, and medium-density is having a serious glow-up: The Urban Developer

🚧 Pipeline Watch

Live Nation storms Perth — for better or worse
Live Nation is converting a Northbridge warehouse into a 3,000-person mega-venue — their first WA foothold. The $9.65M Francis Street buy gives the global ticketing behemoth fresh turf in growing Perth’s entertainment scene. Great for international acts, grim news for indie venues and local promoters already squeezed by Live Nation’s market power. More big shows, sure — but at what cost? At least there’ll be something to do in Perth now: Commo.

Fraser Brown lands $250m Clyde North blockbuster
Ex-Carlton star Fraser Brown just snapped up a $250m land deal in Clyde North — the priciest resi dev site in VIC. His Brown Property Group beat out 20+ offers for the 68ha block, enough for 1,290+ homes. Brown’s been quietly stacking land — he also bought Cranbourne Golf Club for $190m last year. From midfield grunt to land play boss — serious footy-to-fortune pipeline: AFR

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🤝 Deal Flow

Perth office tower hits market — hot timing
An A-grade office tower at 28 The Esplanade, Perth has hit the market. It’s 89% leased, sitting in Elizabeth Quay, with views, parking, and future redevelopment upside. Perth’s office market is flying: best occupancy and rental growth in Aus right now. The pitch? You’re buying into a city on a tear — and with $76b in infrastructure coming, more tailwinds ahead: The Urban Developer

💰 Money Moves

Crown penthouse finally sells — but at a $20m haircut
The Barangaroo Crown penthouse is finally moving — set to sell for $80m, down from its original $100m tag back in 2021. The six-bedroom trophy pad has been one of Sydney’s most-watched ultra-luxe listings. Big views, big expectations — and a market that’s finally caught up to the seller. Proof the top end of the prestige market still has to meet reality sometimes: AFR

Surfers Paradise retail fetches $31M
Cavill Lane — a high-profile retail precinct steps from Surfers Paradise Beach — has traded hands for $31M. New owners The Property Factory and Boston Global scored 28 fully-leased tenancies plus valuable underground parking. With a 96% occupancy rate and scope for future repositioning or strata subdivision, the deal taps into the Gold Coast’s booming visitor numbers and infrastructure tailwinds. Expect the precinct’s F&B and entertainment mix to get even sharper: The Urban Developer

Odus doubles down on Main Beach
Sydney-based Odus has snapped up its second Main Beach site, paying $55.7M for the Ari tower project — a beachfront $290M play with 31 luxury apartments. The group is already building its $150M La Mer tower next door, with both projects now under its full control. Ari’s half and full-floor apartments will range from $7.5M up, with demolition works now underway. Supply of prime beachfront stock remains razor-thin — and demand is burning hot: The Urban Developer

Adelaide’s 63 Pirie Street sold for $50.5m
Centennial picked up 63 Pirie Street, Adelaide’s biggest office sale this year, for $50.5m — a 16% discount on its 2022 price. The A-grade tower is 87% leased with blue-chip tenants (Macquarie, Lockheed Martin, Bentley’s). Centennial’s backing the state’s $100b project pipeline and booming defence sector to drive the office cycle up. Adelaide’s property clock? Early upswing — perfect entry point: Commo.

📜 Policy & Pressure

SA budget sends $27.3b into infrastructure
South Australia is throwing $27.3b at priority infrastructure over the next four years, with big-ticket roads and hospitals leading the charge. Headline items: $15.4b North-South Corridor, $3.2b Women’s & Children’s Hospital, plus a stack of road upgrades. Road safety is also getting a $456.7m cumulative injection — think new cameras, upgraded crossings, and regional safety works. In short: plenty of federal co-funding, plenty of concrete to pour: Roads and Infrastructure Magazine

Townsville green-lights its first Build-to-Rent
Townsville’s first ever Build-to-Rent project just scored approval — Fairfield & Co, worth $125m. Developer GEON will deliver two 12-storey towers with nearly 300 apartments, targeting essential workers and younger renters. It’s the first BTR play outside SEQ — a sign of confidence in regional markets. Ground breaks in 2026 — they’ll be chasing a vacancy rate that dipped below 1% last year: The Urban Developer

🔩 Build Intel

Sydney Metro Martin Place wins global award
The Sydney Metro Martin Place project just won Integrated Mixed-Use Mall of the Year at the Retail Asia Awards. Macquarie, Investa, and Colliers teamed up to lease out a CBD commuter hub stacked with on-trend brands. From Lune Croissanterie to Sneaker Laundry, they’ve built more than just a tunnel mall. This is placemaking with a commuter edge — other cities should really just copy their homework: Commo.

Victoria wraps $964m road blitz
Victoria just wrapped its $964m road maintenance blitz across the west — 70% of spend went to regional roads. Key routes like the Midland, Wimmera, and Western Highways got fresh upgrades, improving freight flow and commuter links. A new Better Roads Blitz is already budgeted for 2025/26, keeping the repair momentum rolling. In short: smoother roads, safer freight, and a bit less pothole pain ahead: Roads and Infrastucture Magazine

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🇦🇺 Market Reads

Melbourne parking market takes a hit
Melbourne CBD parking rates have slumped — daily rates now $64.43, below 2013 levels. Vacancy in the CBD is at 18% — the worst of the majors — so parking operators are cutting rates to survive. Meanwhile Brisbane just hit a new record: casual parking at $80.84/day, the priciest in Aus. Translation? Parking rates are now a leading indicator of CBD health: RWC

Global corporates betting big on new office space
Global corporates are targeting 104 million sq ft of new office space in the next 3–5 years, per Knight Frank. The twist? They’re going flexible: shorter leases, smarter spaces, regional hubs — not mega HQs. Hybrid remains king: only 10% of firms plan full 5-day office weeks. The message? Offices aren’t dead — they’re just evolving fast: Knight Frank

🌍 Far From Home

Brookfield bets big on Swedish AI play
Brookfield’s dropping $15.3 billion on a mega AI data centre in Sweden — one of Europe’s largest. The new Strängnäs hub will sprawl across 3.77 million sq ft and deliver 1,000 long-term jobs. It follows their €20 billion push into French infrastructure, with €10 billion earmarked for an AI factory. Sweden’s PM called it "one of the largest AI investments ever" — and yes, it happens to be in his hometown: Capital Brief

Office space razed faster than it’s built — first time in 25 years
For the first time in 25 years, more US office space is being demolished or converted than built — a seismic post-pandemic shift. 2.1 million square metres of office space will be razed or repurposed this year, with just 1.1 million square metres of new builds coming online. NYC is leading the charge on office-to-resi conversions — think 25 Water St, the largest office-to-residential conversion in U.S. history. The upside? Less obsolete stock, stabilising rents, and thousands of fresh apartments for cities like NYC that badly need them: CNBC

That’s a wrap for today, have a beautiful public holiday!
If you made it this far, you’re already ahead.

Catch you in the dirt,
— Team DIRT

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