Major Projects and Development

Acted for Walker Corporation in its redevelopment of waterfront land at Rhodes, NSW. The development is an estimated A$800 million project which involved a paint factory site being remediated and redeveloped to a mixed-use, high-rise, shopping centre, residential and commercial village.

Advised Westfield Group on a wide range of planning matters in New South Wales (purchase and development of three major CBD retail sites in Sydney, including Centrepoint) and Queensland (development approvals for a new regional centre at Coomera and major expansion at North Lakes Centre, Chermside and Garden City regional shopping centres).

Advised Port of Melbourne Channel Deepening, one of the largest infrastructure projects conducted by the Victorian Government in recent times, seen as critical to the Port and Australia's position in global shipping. As key advisers to the Port of Melbourne Corporation, we advised on many aspects of the project, including the Supplementary Environmental Effects Statement and managed the public hearing process Federal Court litigation over the Federal Government's environmental approval for the dredging, cultural and Aboriginal heritage issues, relocation of essential infrastructure under the Yarra River, the resolution of the alliance dredging contract, and land tenure issues relating to land assets affected by the project.

Acted for Acciona Infrastructure and Alstom Transport in relation to their successful bid for the delivery of the $2.1bn Sydney light rail project.

The cornerstone of the Brisbane Airport Corporation's infrastructure program for Australia's third-busiest airport is a new Parallel Runway, expected to be completed by 2020. We are currently supporting BAC with the development and implementation of a procurement strategy for Stage 1 of the proposed A$1.3 billion runway.

Acted for DEXUS Property Group in relation to the $500 million acquisition and development of 480 and 470A Queen Street, Brisbane.  This acquisition and development, described as the largest property deal of 2013, will comprise a 31-level premium-grade office development project across 55,561 square metres located in Brisbane’s Golden Triangle and is targeting 6 Star Green Star and 5 star NABERS Energy ratings.

Acting for a wholly owned subsidiary of Frasers Property Australia (formerly Australand Holdings Ltd) on the A$800 million Discovery Point development at Wolli Creek in New South Wales. This 8-hectare mixed use development will feature residential apartments, commercial offices, an integrated retail centre and extensive public and private parklands. We are advising on procurement and OH&S strategies, drafting pro-forma and project specific documentation (such as consultancy agreements and design and construct contracts), assisting in the preparation of the tender conditions, advising on the tendering process and compiling documentation for tender.

Acted for AMP in relation to the acquisition and redevelopment of a 50% interest in 190-200 George Street, Sydney.

Working closely with the NSW Government in procuring the new fleet of intercity trains, including approximately 520 new carriages. It is intended that the trains will be procured off-the-shelf with proven technology, and configured to meet the NSW Government's specific needs. The trains are expected to be delivered progressively from 2018 until 2024.

Our Ports team is the leading legal specialists in this sector, with key roles advising on all recent major national port refinancing deals. We were the sole legal advisers to NSW Treasury in relation to the A$5.07 billion restructure and refinancing of the State-owned assets of Port Botany and Port Kembla, with proceeds from the transaction to be invested in the NSW Government's infrastructure fund, Restart NSW. The transaction was completed on 31 May 2013 and considered the largest and most complex of its kind in Australia.

Acted for DEXUS Property Group in relation to the acquisition and development of 3 new mixed-use buildings at Kings Square in Perth. This acquisition and development, which has been described as the biggest commercial property pre-sale in Western Australia with an estimated cost on completion of $434.8 million, will comprise three A-grade office buildings to be developed by Leighton Properties.

Acting for Port Waratah Coal Services Limited (a privately owned facility, the largest shareholder of which is Rio Tinto Coal Australia Limited) in the redevelopment and expansion of the Kooragang Coal Terminal and the Carrington Coal Terminal in the Port of Newcastle.