2018-05-22 Special Meeting Agenda

SPECIAL MEETING REPORT                                                                22 MAY 2018


Any future tenants would be sourced via a commercial real estate partner as part of their
obligations under a property management service agreement. That partner will source potential
tenants on an as-needs basis and assess them based on the criteria from the tender. Refer
section 6 of this report for further detail on this process.
4.    Co-working Tenancy Process
In parallel with the tender for private office spaces, a co-work registration of interest process was
conducted to assess the market appetite for individuals wanting to work in a shared environment
at the Hub.
Thus far, 53 applications have been received for co-work. An initial assessment suggests that
around half of those would fit Councils preferred criteria:
     Entrepreneur working in technology;
     Building a tech business, looking to grow and planning to hire locally;
     Currently working from home or similar environment (i.e. not from a local co-working space);
     Benefit from entrepreneurial support.
The full application process for co-work membership is underway offering an initial 6 month
membership for technology entrepreneurs at a cost of $450 per month. This rate is comparable to
local co-work offers. The Digital Hub Director will apply the preferred criteria outlined above to
finalise selection of co-work tenants. Current demand suggests that, subject to fitout completion,
20 co-workers will be in place by 31 July 2018.
5.    Recommended Tenancy Mix
We are optimising the tenancy mix for digital jobs growth and ratepayer return. Based on the market
learnings from the response thus far, the mix is likely to have a larger proportion of tenants in the
co-work category than first projected. This reflects the maturity of the local digital sector and the
potential to graduate Technology Co-workers to leased office space locally. As a result, the
following tenancy mix is recommended:
     Upper Floor – 5 private office spaces, accommodating approximately 30-40 jobs
     Ground Floor – 20 co-work desk rentals plus co-work, common spaces for specific program
      delivery.
6.    Property Management Services
The Property Branch will undertake an ‘Invitation to Quote’ for property management services via
Council’s Vendor Panel Marketplace that includes:
     managing leases;
     collection of rentals, outgoings & arrears;
     management of external services & utilities;
     securing tenants & re-tenanting for vacant office space .
Previous Council Consideration
Council Workshops:
12 May 2017
26 October 2017
17 November 2017
7 December 2017
Council Briefing:
11 May 2018
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