$70m Abbotsford Office Tower, North Helm, Secures Expanding Coworking Group, The Hive, As Anchor Tenant

Victorian developer Hirsch & Faigen has secured global coworking space operator The Hive to anchor its latest project, the $70 million ‘North Helm’ office building located at 222 Hoddle Street, Abbotsford in Melbourne’s Inner-East.

The Hive, which recently merged with Common Ground and The Cluster to form The Flexi Group, is a collection of flexible workspace brands with spaces in 12 cities across Asia Pacific and Australia.

This recent merger allows the group to offer holistic membership solutions for businesses of all sizes, ranging from typical coworking memberships to full-service enterprise and white labelled management solutions.

The site at 222 Hoddle Street will be the rapidly growing company’s third for Australia – all of them located in Melbourne.

The Hive has signed a 15 year lease for 2285 sqm of the innovative Five Star Green Star 7,350sqm development which has been specifically designed to deliver a flexible office environment through co-working spaces, fully customisable offices, and private terraces.

The Hive’s latest expansion in Melbourne comes just two years after its first foray into the Australian market with the Hive Collingwood, followed by The Cluster in Melbourne’s CBD a year later.

“We are excited to have partnered with Hirsch & Faigen to establish our third coworking space in Australia at a development that aligns with our principles of creating modern, sustainable workplaces where businesses can thrive,” says Flexi Group CEO, Chris Edwards.

“The Australian market, and particularly Melbourne where we have an established footprint, is primed for further growth in the coworking space as businesses adapt to an increasingly dynamic environment where flexibility has become critical to growth.

“222 Hoddle is a quality development in a prime location that delivers on the high levels of sustainability we seek in each of our coworking spaces.”

Hirsch & Faigen, a company with ties to United Petroleum co-founder Eddie Hirsch, engaged award-winning architecture and design studio Architectus to create a design for the project that draws inspiration from local heritage warehouses.

“222 Hoddle Street is specifically designed for forward-thinking tenants by providing flexible workspaces that can be readily adapted for a wide range of industries while providing premium offices that are mindful of health, wellness and sustainability,” said Hirsch & Faigen’s Principal, Ben Hirsch.

“The prime city fringe location in Abbotsford is close to cafés, bars, restaurants, and other amenities, and within walking distance of transport routes and bike lanes. This delivers 222 Hoddle a near perfect Walkscore of 95 out of 100, metrics which were among the many factors that appealed to the Hive and its commitment to its newest coworking space for the Australian market.”

Hirsch & Faigen is a family-run business, led by Richard Hirsch, Anthony Bueti, Ben Hirsch, and Daniel Faigen. The company has delivered an extensive portfolio of premium commercial and residential developments over the past eight years.

222 Hoddle Street and poised to become Abbotsford’s first Five-Star Green Star rated office building, comprises 7,350 sqm of net lettable area across 10 storeys.

The property is strategically located to reduce travel times for meetings in the CBD and surrounding suburbs, while also offering superior access to great Melbourne via the city’s key road connections.

222 Hoddle is currently under construction with the project scheduled for completion in June 2023.