1 William Street, Brisbane

The site was formerly bisected by Short Street and comprised a number of different allotments and uses. Buildings occupied the area as early as 1854 and it was used for a variety of functions including; manufacturing, warehousing, shipping, housing, and electricity generation.

The Queensland Government began purchasing the properties in the 1960s as part of their Government Precinct development scheme and began demolishing the existing buildings, some dating to the 1850s. The demolition of the adjacent Bellevue Hotel and construction of 80 George Street saw the spoil from there dumped on the 1 William Street site. Short Street was closed and all of the site was amalgamated into one allotment, 1 William Street.

In 1974, the site was allocated for future government offices.[9]

1 William Street is a 6,778-square-metre (72,960 sq ft) site, owned by the Queensland Government, and from 1982 until 2013 it was used as a government car park. The site encompasses a whole city block between William, Alice and Margaret Streets and Riverside Expressway.

Since 2012, 1 William Street is often colloquially referred to as the "Campbell Newman Edifice Complex" which is a reference to the building's shape and the political arrogance of the commissioning former Newman Government and that the building is filled entirely with Queensland Government public servants.[10][11][12][13]

The site has archaeological potential of possible cultural heritage significance. Remnants of 1850s buildings are visible above the current ground level and it is likely that significant sub-surface fabric survives.

In August 2012, Expressions of Interest were called for from experienced organisations interested in bidding for the project. It was proposed that the site would be available to the successful party under a long-term lease arrangement and that the Queensland Government would take a long-term lease over approximately 75,000 m² (810,000 sq ft) of the office space in the development.[14]

In September 2012, six developers were shortlisted to develop proposals for a new high-rise tower. The shortlisted companies were Cbus, Lend Lease, Brookfield, Westfield, Leighton Properties and Grocon.[15][16]

In December 2012, Cbus was announced as the developer for 1 William Street.[17] The developer was granted a 99-year lease over the site and a guaranteed 15-year government lease for 60,000 m² (650,000 sq ft) of office space.[18]

1 William Street has a gross floor area of 119,977 m² (1,291,420 sq ft) and a net lettable area of 74,853 m² (805,710 sq ft) of office space, excluding retail which covers 1,169 m² (12,580 sq ft). The design includes 318 car bays.[19]

About 60,000 m² (650,000 sq ft) has been allocated for government space, leaving around 15,000 m² (160,000 sq ft) to be subleased by the private sector.[19] It is intended to receive a 5-star NABERS office energy rating and a 3-star NABERS office water rating. The building is the first new commercial office building developed for government in the Brisbane CBD since the completion of the government office building at 33 Charlotte Street in 2004.[20]

The theme and colour scheme for each floor has been dedicated to a Queensland icon or natural phenomenon.[21]

The construction, which was undertaken by Multiplex, commenced in early 2013 and was completed in 2016.[22] The groundbreaking of the site, attended by Tim Nicholls (Treasurer at the time) and the Jeff Seeney (Deputy Premier at the time), was held on 4 March 2013.[23]

From 1 October 2016, nine full departments and agencies, all state government ministers, most Directors-General and more than 5,000 public servants moved to 1 William Street.[24] Some sections from 11 other departments also shifted to 1 William Street, while other sections of these departments will move to other buildings in the inner-city. Three buildings will be demolished: the Executive Building at 100 George Street, the Executive Annex at 80 George Street and the Neville Bonner Building at 75 William Street.

Entrance, 2018

View from South Bank, 2021

The building houses between 5,000 to 6,000 public servants.[25] The entirety of the 1 William Street building is occupied by various departments in the Queensland Government:[26]

• Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships[8]
• Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (also 41 George Street)[8]
• Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services (plus 111 George Street)[8]
• Department of Education and Training (plus 54 Mary Street)[8]
• Department of Energy and Water Supply[8]
• Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (plus 400 George Street)[8]
• Queensland Health (plus 33 Charlotte Street)[8]
• Department of Housing and Public Works (plus 41 George Street and 60 Albert Street)[8]
• Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning[8]
• Department of Justice and Attorney-General (plus 400 George Street)[8]
• Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing (plus 400 George Street)[8]
• Department of Natural Resources and Mines[8]
• Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Services[8]
• Public Sector Commission[8]
• Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation (plus 140 Creek Street)[8]
• Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning[8]
• Department of Transport and Main Roads (plus 61 Mary Street, 313 Adelaide Street)[8]
• Trade and Investment Queensland[8]
• Queensland Treasury[8]
• Department of Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the 2032 Summer Olympics (plus 63 George Street)[8]

• List of tallest buildings in Brisbane
• List of tallest buildings in Australia

Media related to 1 William Street, Brisbane at Wikimedia Commons

• Building at the Queensland Treasury website
• Building at the Woods Bagot website Archived 28 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• Building at the designbuild-network website
• Building at The Skyscraper Center database
• 1 William Street at Bennett and Bennett