AXA IM-Real Assets appoints former Olympian Steph Prem to run wellness centre for 101 Collins Street occupiers
AXA IM-Real Assets is upping the ante for premium-grade office perks – appointing former Olympian Steph Prem (pictured, top) to run an on-site wellness centre for 101 Collins Street occupants.
RISE by Studio PP, as it will be known, will also employ other former Olympians and professional athletes, and celebrity trainers.
Penned by architect Gray Puksand, the 360 square metre facility will offer at least 40 classes a week across disciplines including boxing, TRX, HIIT, Baare, Hot Yoga and Pilates, Stretch and Mobility and Mediation.
It will also offer services – osteopathy, remedial massage and nutritional-related – amongst them.
Brett Dillon, AXA IM-Real Assets head of funds management – representing the building owner, Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation – said “the decision to launch a market-leading health and wellness facility stemmed from the growing demand for work-life integration and an opportunity to place 101 Collins Street at the forefront of workplace wellness”.
Set to open in October, the Rise by Studio PP initiative comes a year after a multi-million upgrade of 101 Collins Street’s end-of-trip facilities – which are now resort-style, and includes a spa.
Wellness and its link to corporate productivity
Australia’s corporate wellness industry is in its infancy, according to Mr Dillon.
Globally, the sector is worth $50 billion – with that number expected to rise to about $54 billion by 2025.
Here, just 3.6 per cent – or 400,000 employees – are involved in a corporate wellness program.
“The corporate wellness industry is booming as major companies around the globe start to better understand the link between physical and mental health and productivity,” the executive said.
“The decision to launch a market-leading health and wellness facility [in Australia] stemmed from the growing demand for work-life integration and an opportunity to place 101 Collins Street at the forefront of workplace wellness.
“By delivering this market-leading facility we are helping our tenants remain at the forefront of workplace health and wellness.
“It’s a benefit to their employees and hopefully, their bottom line through lower absenteeism and improved staff retention” he said.
Ms Prem added that “a cultural shift is gradually occurring in Australia with evidence that workplace wellness is providing a setting for optimising physical, mental and social health and performance”.
“Our ability to live happy and healthy lives is undoubtedly linked to our work life balance.
“We believe if you’re not well; the business of ‘you’ is not well,” Ms Prem said. “By moving, motivating and educating the tenants of 101 Collins Street daily, our team will be able to optimise physical and mental well-being on a greater scale”.
101 Collins Street
Arguably Melbourne’s most exclusive office skyscraper, 101 Collins Street was developed in 1991, replacing the CRA building, the city’s tallest between 1962 and 1969. The CRA building went by the address of 95 Collins Street.
Herbert Smith Freehills, Allens Linklaters, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are amongst the occupiers of 101 Collins Street.
Several property related companies are based there too – commercial agency JLL amongst them, on level 40.
CBRE occupied the 19th floor of 101 Collins Street more than 10 years ago.
