Lendlease is bringing car sharing to the office basement, as landlords across the country put big bucks into boosting concierge services and make the city office feel more like a home.
With office basements, once full of cars, now sitting almost empty, the property giant has teamed up with mobility services start-up Outbound, to offer its tenants in the newly opened upmarket Salesforce tower at Sydney’s 180 George Street the use of Tesla Model 3s in the newly launched Electric Car Club.
Initially, there will be three vehicles available for hire on an hourly, daily or weekend basis, but unlike a petrol-driven car, there won’t be added expenses or time needed to refuel. The rates vary from about $20 an hour to $220 for a weekend all-inclusive.
Lendlease project director Steve McGillivray had a chance meeting with Outbound’s co-founder Luke Rust and came up with the concept for the new $1 billion Salesforce tower, which is Sydney’s tallest commercial tower, located within Lendlease’s Sydney Place precinct at Circular Quay.
He said tenants will be able to reserve, pay and access support through the Outbound app, and even lock, unlock and drive the vehicles through their phones.
“The Electric Car Club is set to enhance the excellent connectivity of the Sydney Place precinct and extend the state-of-the-art amenity available to tenants,” McGillivray said.
The Electric Car Club is set to enhance the excellent connectivity of the Sydney Place precinct and extend the state-of-the-art amenity available to tenants
Lendlease director Steve McGillivray
“We’re finding that businesses continue to be drawn to high quality, next-generation workplaces that align with their culture and brand, and also help set them apart from competitors in attracting and retaining talent.”
This is the second major office deal in Sydney for the cleantech “mobility” car share business Outbound, which is also rolling out a fleet of communal Teslas for staff use at the strata development at 3 Hosking Place in the CBD when construction is completed in the following months.