Grocon


Grocon Pty Ltd, or more commonly Grocon, is Australia's largest privately owned development, construction and funds management company. With its head office located in Melbourne, Victoria, the company also has offices in Sydney and Brisbane. Over the past twenty years, Grocon has delivered four of Australia's five tallest buildings. Three generations of the Grollo family have been involved in managing the company.
Grocon has an extensive history of industrial disputes in Australia, particularly with the CFMEU including on-going litigation.

History

Grocon grew from a small family concreting business established in Victoria, by Luigi Grollo after he emigrated from Treviso in Italy in 1928. A one-man operation, Luigi Grollo set up his own business in 1948 and completed small concreting projects, such as paving, shopping centre car parks, sewerage infrastructure and swimming pools. His sons Rino and Bruno Grollo joined the business at the age of 15. The business expanded rapidly in the 1950s by continuing with concreting of municipal swimming pools and petrol stations in Melbourne. In the years following, the Grollo Group would transition from the building of local community assets throughout the 1960s to constructing landmark developments.
In the 1970s, Grocon moved into concrete construction, such as shopping centres and high-rise buildings and started developing the projects themselves. It was also during the 1970s that Luigi Grollo handed the company over to his two sons and the business continued to rapidly expand. In 1975, Grocon moved to Darwin for 18 months after winning a large contract for rebuilding after Cyclone Tracy. This contract involved the construction of 400 houses for the government. Following this, the Grollo Group went on to develop buildings and operate businesses in a wide cross-section of industries, including commercial, residential, industrial, education, retail, sporting and tourism.
In the 1980s, many developments owned by the Grollo family were sold.
This included the selling of such assets as The Hyatt, Shell Corner, 200 Queen Street and a suite of shopping centres. At this stage, the Grollo family only retained one major development – the Rialto Towers.
In 2000, the construction business was split between a construction-centric business owned by Bruno and Daniel Grollo and a property development operation owned by Rino Grollo. As part of this shift, Rino Grollo secured Equiset and the Grollo Group. In 1999, Bruno’s oldest son, Daniel, assumed control of Grocon as chief executive officer. Daniel Grollo has since been appointed chairman of the Green Building Council of Australia. and the Prime Minister's Business Advisory Council.
In March 2012 the construction business was split again into a construction business, owned by Daniel Grollo, which is the current Grocon, and a property development business owned by his older siblings Adam and Leeanna. In 2014, Grocon achieved another milestone, being named as the “preferred developer” for the 2018 Commonwealth Games Village on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
On 24 February 2014, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Carolyn Viney succeeded Daniel Grollo as Chief Executive Officer of Grocon. Daniel assumed the role of Executive Chairman whilst retaining full oversight and ownership of the business.

UBS Grocon Real Estate

In December 2013, Grocon launched a five-year, $10 billion joint venture with Swiss investment bank UBS. The joint venture has created UBS Grocon Real Estate, a full-service real estate and asset management platform which has first right of refusal for Grocon's 2 billion development pipeline. The venture is chaired by John A. Fraser, Chairman and CEO Global Asset Management at UBS AG and Daniel Grollo will act as a Non-Executive Director.

Awards and accolades

As a company, Grocon has been the recipient of numerous awards. In 2010, Grocon was named the Forest Stewardship Council Developer of the Year. and Grocon was also the National Master Builders Association Builder of the Year in 2011. Grocon received two The National Association of Women in Construction awards in 2013 for both outstanding and young achievement. In 2011, Grocon was the recipient of the ANZ–BRW Excellence in Community Practices prize. In the realm of safety, Grocon won the 2008 Safe Work Australia Best workplace health and safety management system award and received the WorkSafe Victoria OHS Management System of the Year prize.

Industrial disputes

Since 2002, Grocon has been involved in conflict the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union over the CFMEU's rights at Grocon developments including occupational health and safety management, union access and the wearing of union badges. This culminated in the CFMEU's picketing of at least one entrance to the Emporium development which resulted in an impassable physical barrier, preventing access to the site through that entrance for Grocon workers. Grocon subsequently launched a 10.5 million compensation claim in the Supreme Court of Victoria for the blockade. It also sought contempt orders against the union for allegedly breaching two Supreme Court injunctions that ordered an end to the blockade. Justice Cavanough held that free access to the site for Grocon workers was prevented by the CFMEU as access could only be obtained through 'elaborate' police assistance. The Fair Work Building and Construction has subsequently also launched legal proceedings against the CFMEU.
In June, 2015 a court ordered judgement was made which saw the CFMEU ordered to pay Grocon $3.5 million in damage.

Swanston Street wall incident

On 28 March 2013, during wind gusts of up to, a brick wall on the boundary of a Grocon development collapsed killing three people. The wall's safety, the role of the billboards Grocon had attached to the structure and the self-supporting nature of the structure designed by the previous owner were initially questioned as possible causes. The billboard extended one metre above the wall and was suggested to have acted as a sail. There was early speculation as to the role of the advertising hoarding and whether a permit had been granted or whether a permit was needed. There were also questions surrounding the role of tree roots in destabilising the wall. An unidentified spokesperson for the Victorian Government asked unions not to block productivity over the case. WorkSafe Victoria filed criminal charges against Grocon and Aussie Signs who were employed by Grocon to construct the billboard. Police acting in the case have stated that Grocon representatives refused to give evidence, and the company did not release an engineering report the court has asked for access to, saying it "was not relevant".
In November 2014 Grocon was fined $250,000 in the Magistrates Court by Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg after it pleaded guilty to a "single workplace safety charge" "... relating to the risk posed by the wall, rather than causing it to fall down.".

Alleged sabotage

Grocon experienced two fires on separate Victorian construction sites, and various other acts of suspected sabotage in June 2014.

Completed projects

Grocon has built four of Australia's five tallest buildings in Melbourne, Sydney and South-east Queensland. Since, Grocon has increased operations abroad in India and the United Arab Emirates.

Melbourne

In Melbourne, Grocon's completed developments include:
In New South Wales, Grocon has developed:
Grocon has been involved in three Queensland building projects:
In Darwin, Grocon is best known for what are locally known as 'Grollo houses'; ground level and split level homes recognisable by the small protrusion on the roof which held the water heater. These houses were built in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy as an effective means of providing housing for Darwin's population.
Leo Hammond architect of Melbourne designed them.

International

Internationally, Grocon's developments include:
Grocon has an 2 billion development pipeline in Australia and abroad.

Australia

Grocon's current projects in Australia include:
Internationally, Grocon is currently involved in developing: