Charter Hall has secured global tech giant Amazon as the anchor tenant for its $750 million office at 555 Collins Street, Melbourne.

The pre-lease deal also marks the start of construction for the Charter Hall Prime Office Fund flagship development.

The 555 project comprises two towers worth $1.5 billion, the larger 48,000sq m tower will to be tenanted by Amazon and a smaller 32,000sq m tower will be built in stage two of the development.

Amazon has been expanding its footprint rapidly since opening on Australian shores in 2017 with the pandemic only improving the company’s outlook.

The 555 Collins Street project gained fast-tracked approval from the Victorian state government earlier this year.

Once complete it will accommodate up to 7,500 workers within tech-enabled environments, flexible spaces and wellness facilities.

Lendlease Constructions have the contract on the project, and have demolished existing structures on the site in preparation for the new towers.

Related: Charter Hall Offloads North Sydney Tower for $212m

Charter Hall chief executive David Harrison said 555 Collins Street is a commercial precinct that will create a new benchmark for office development.

“This major pre-commitment provides the momentum for CPOF to proceed with construction and advance further leasing interest during the development phase,” Harrison said.

“We expect a flight to high quality modern office buildings as tenant customers refine their workplace to meet the changing appetite for modern, technology and health/hygiene driven accommodation requirements.”

Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas said projects like this are driving economic activity in the inner-city.

“This is exactly what Melbourne’s CBD–and our economy–needs right now: a project that will bring to life this end of town and create hundreds of construction jobs,” Pallas said.

“Victoria was the strongest economy in the country before the pandemic and with investments like these in the pipeline, we’re confident we’ll come back even better and stronger.”

The plans for 555 Collins Street were lodged in April last year and approved by council in February.

The development is owned by the Charter Hall Prime Office Fund, which on completion of its current development pipeline will grow to an $8 billion office portfolio.

The announcement follows the successful completion of the $830 million 130 Lonsdale Street, part of the Wesley Place precinct.