COVID's Tower Approved. And Broke.
What a Receivership Tells Us About Melbourne's Next Chapter
When The Asian Executive featured Southbank by Beulah on its 2020 cover, it brought attention to ambition, recovery, and the influence of Asian capital in Melbourne. Five years later, receivers are selling the site. However, both the story and the opportunity continue.
The Asian Executive, Second Quarter 2020 — featuring Southbank by Beulah and the Hon. Josh Frydenberg MP, the Hon. Tim Pallas MP, and Jiaheng Chan, Managing Director, Beulah International.
A single photograph can convey the story more effectively than any financial statement.
Taken in the second quarter of 2020 during the height of the global pandemic, the photograph appeared on this magazine's cover. It featured three men, an architectural rendering of twisting towers, and a headline focused on rebuilding the nation from strong foundations.
Commonwealth Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas, and Beulah International Managing Director Jiaheng Chan were present. Their $2 billion Southbank by Beulah project had just received state planning approval, expedited as part of a Victorian government stimulus to support Melbourne during a marked economic downturn.
Fast forward to April 2026, receivers appointed by lenders Maybank, HMC Capital, and LaTrobe Financial listed the same sites, 118 and 158 City Road, Southbank. The situation is noted by a striking irony. The same crisis that enabled this project, COVID-19, initially created demand but later led to supply chain disruptions, labour shortages, and material cost inflation, ultimately halting progress. Units were presold at prices that no longer covered construction costs. The solution and the problem originated from the same event.
From The Asian Executive — Q2 2020 Edition
A project born of its moment
To appreciate the significance of this week's announcement, it is important to consider what Southbank by Beulah is. This was more than a tall building. It was conceived as a vertical mini-metropolis with two twisting, biophilic towers, one 365 metres and the other 295 metres. The project included a Four Seasons Hotel, a cultural centre in partnership with Paris's Centre Pompidou, world-class retail, childcare, wellness facilities, commercial offices, and nearly 270,000 square metres of mixed-use space. Designed by Dutch firm UNStudio with Cox Architecture, it won a global competition and attracted significant interest from institutional capital across Asia and beyond.
By August 2023, Beulah had appointed Multiplex as builder and secured nearly $1 billion in apartment sales, including individual sales between $30 million and $38 million. Managing Director Adelene Teh announced this achievement just six days after the birth of her third child, stating: "From today onwards, Southbank is not simply an idea or a plan. It is happening."
Nobody in that room doubted her.
From The Asian Executive — Q2 2020 Edition
What the numbers couldn't survive
This outcome has been seen across the Australian development sector in the post-COVID-19 years. Presale prices from 2020 and 2021 could not accommodate the subsequent surge in construction costs. In some cases, building costs increased by 30 to 40 percent above pre-pandemic estimates. For large, complex projects, the gap between presale income and construction costs became insurmountable. The development's project management entity entered voluntary administration in early 2025 and attempted a major redesign to reduce costs by hundreds of millions, but faced resistance from the state government, which sought to preserve the project's public amenity. Ultimately, the project could not proceed.
From The Asian Executive — Q2 2020 Edition
The site endures
It is important for investors to recognize that, unlike a typical development setback, the underlying asset remains exceptional. The site delivers a unique opportunity to enter a premium Melbourne location with established planning approvals.
Leon Ma, Director and Head of Asia Capital Services at Cushman & Wakefield, is marketing both sites alongside colleagues Daniel Wolman, Oliver Hay and Julian White, as well as Mr Chao Zhang from Stonebridge Property Group.
"This is among the most high-profile, large-scale development sites to reach the Melbourne market in recent years. The established planning precedent, significant City Road frontage, and premium location create an exceptional value proposition."
For strategic investors from Asia, this represents a rare opportunity to participate in a flagship project within a prime market. Ma leverages extensive Asian capital networks and a civil engineering background in his assessment of major sites. Offshore investor interest has been immediate. The sites are adjacent to Eureka Tower, Australia 108, and Crown Casino, and are within walking distance of Melbourne's arts precinct, where the $1.7 billion Fox NGV Contemporary is scheduled for completion later this year.
From The Asian Executive — Q2 2020 Edition
A word about Jiaheng Chan
During the 2020 cover interview, Jiaheng Chan's candour was memorable. He explained that his team did not intend to build Australia's tallest tower; the height resulted from a pledge to evolve how Melburnians live, work, learn, and connect with each other and with nature. He also spoke about his Christian faith, influential mentors, and guiding his family through the project's challenges and successes.
These are not the words of a developer focused on superficial achievements. This sincerity merits recognition now, during a trying period, as it was equally evident during times of success.
Beulah has confirmed that the sales campaign does not prevent the project from moving forward. A new party could still realize the vision, potentially in a simplified form, on a site whose planning precedent, location, and scale remain unmatched in Melbourne's development pipeline.
What comes next
The larger lesson goes beyond a single developer or project. It concerns the intersection of visionary, long-term development and short-term market upheaval, a dynamic that will shape Australian property for years to come.
Asian capital, which has a strong track record of landmark urban investment, can now access a premier Melbourne opportunity at an adjusted price level. Planning and approvals are secured, positioning incoming investors to act quickly within an established system and benefit from completed groundwork.
The vision of a biophilic vertical village on the Yarra's edge, connecting Melbourne's arts precinct to its skyline, did not cease with this receivership. It now awaits new leadership, fresh capital, and the long-term conviction that defines leading Asian institutional investors.
The best chapters of this story are still to be written.
The Asian Executive covered the original Southbank by Beulah planning approval in its Q2 2020 edition. Leon Ma of Cushman & Wakefield can be contacted via LinkedIn for site enquiries.