Plan Group Geelong designs its own expansion

PLAN Group has turned its construction expertise inward, designing and delivering a major expansion of its own Geelong office as the business continues to grow.

The project has almost doubled the size of the company’s Malop Street premises, expanding the office from 330sqm to 650sqm with new meeting rooms, flexible workspaces and collaborative areas for staff.

Senior design manager Amelia Davies led the in-house design team, working alongside project manager Gavin Donnon to deliver the project.

More than 100 guests attended the official opening last Thursday.

Completing the project in-house was a point of pride for the Geelong team, according to general manager Nathan Maxwell.

“We’ve done this ourselves. We’ve taken it on and completed it internally,” he said.

“It’s a really exciting time that we’ve grown out of the space that we created in 2019.”

The national company established its first Geelong office in Gheringhap Street in 2017 before relocating to Malop Street two years later.

The Geelong office now employs 70 staff and delivers commercial construction projects across the education, healthcare and retail sectors.

Its local portfolio includes Geelong’s WorkSafe office, the redevelopment of Northern Bay College’s Goldsworthy campus, Barwon Health’s McKellar Kids Rehabilitation Centre and the redevelopment of West Oval.

Maxwell said the office expansion reflected the steady growth of the Geelong business over the past eight years.

“Our average project size has increased; $5 million is about the average,” he said.

“We do work in Geelong anywhere from $500,000 for the right sort of clients right up to one of our largest projects, which is more than $30 million.”

He said sustainable growth would be the focus for Plan Group Geelong into the future.

“For us, it’s continuing to build good relationships with our clients, our subcontractors, our project partners and our consultants to ensure we have a steady pipeline of work,” Maxwell said.

“The ambition is to continue to be able to grow but in that sustainable nature that sees us thrive in the Geelong market.”