Lawrence Kopping and Jonathan Cohen said the Eagle Property Group not only has plans to further develop and enhance the large commercial space they own opposite Woolworths in Burelli Street. Last week they invested in another property and can see so much more potential in the market.

“We are very firm believers that Wollongong has got a better future than most regional centres. But it is dependent over the next five to 10 years what enticements are offered to large corporations,” Mr Cohen said.

MMJ’s Travis Machan said Eagle Property Group had just completed an acquisition in conjunction with another party. They have purchased 8 Station Street which is leased to the Commonwealth Government (the Hydrographic Office). Richard Garland, of Knight Frank Sydney, also acted for the vendor.

Mr Machan said Eagle Property Group was a substantial private investor group that focused on regions that show obvious signs of growth and potential. “Wollongong has stayed on the their radar since their first acquisition nearly four years ago. This is a true testament to their belief in Wollongong's future,” he said.

Eagle Property Group acquired 60 Burelli Street because of the positive signs they saw. “We were a new business..and were looking at growth areas..one hour outside of Sydney. Here we could see a really good trajectory,” Mr Kopping said.

At that time work had not started on the GPT West Keira St development, the Woolworths building upgrade or new residential units in Corrimal St. But they could see the city’s lifestyle appeal and how it had all the fundamentals in place for people to want to live, stay, work and play in one place. They could see Wollongong had great appeal and needed more A Grade office space.

The Eagle directors are amazed at how quickly activity in Wollongong has grown. “There was always potential in the building (60 Burelli St) to improve it. But the real potential was to go up. Initially there was the possibility of adding on many new floors. But the reality is..adding on one floor to the existing structure is a lot cheaper. It is an attractive design and their is huge demand for large floor space for large office uses. We think that demand will actually increase,” Mr Cohen said.

He thinks a little more effort to entice big business to relocate to Wollongong could have great rewards. Eagle is looking for more opportunities so more office space can become available.

And others like them also see Wollongong as an attractive destination in which to invest.

“Residentially it has come along in leaps and bounds It has a lovely lifestyle. And the workforce is here. A large number commute to Sydney every day but would prefer to work closer to home. It is a captive market of educated people.”

They have also noticed how the staff retention rate at the NRMA Call Centre in Wollongong is among the best in Australia. That shows how happy people are to live and work in Wollongong.

“But True A-Grade is very hard to come by right now,” Mr Machan said.

The demand is so great that new sites becoming available are being leased off the plan before they are built.

Eagle Property Group has submitted a development application for 60 Burelli Street. They will be offering an additional 2300sqm and think the take-up will be enthusiastic. They will look after their existing tenants first and the timing of any work will depend on what is best for them. 

The Eagle directors know the market for A-Grade office space is far bigger and if the city enticed new business (landlords and tenants) to come they could easily lease out a further 5000 to 10,000sqm. They see no reason why Wollongong could not attract businesses with workforces of between 300 and 500 staff.

“The marketing of Wollongong has been fantastic. But the real opportunity is to actually offer incentives for companies to relocate,” Mr Cohen said.