South Australian Department of Health Leases Torrensville Office-Warehouse, Adelaide
SOUTH Australia’s Department of Health will pay $135,000 annual rent to occupy a 960 square metre office in Torrensville, two
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Month: June 2012
South Africa’s Growthpoint Pays GPT $50 Million For Canberra Office
SOUTH African backed Growthpoint Properties Australia has paid $50 million for a Canberra office complex fully leased by the federal government.
The 10-12 Mort Street complex (pictured, right), offloaded by the GPT Group, includes two adjoining six-level towers with a total of 15,400 square metres of A-grade space. The AFR, which reported the sale, did not disclose the rent paid by the government or the yield the property sold for.
Over the past three years the trust has acquired $835 million in real estate. It bought four office assets last December for $294 million, and also , three office assets in Brisbane, an office development in Sydney’s Gore Hill Technology Park.
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Australia’s Population Boom Continues, We’re Now at 22.5 Million
AUSTRALIAN Bureau of Statistics show the nation’s population surged 1.4 per cent last year to 22.5 million.
Victoria led the population surge recruiting 75,000 new residents in the way of immigration, more babies and a net increase from other states. The state now has 5.6 million people.
Mining states Western Australia (which gained 67,400 residents) and Queensland (66,500) were the next fastest growing states.
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Hilton to Build 8-Level, Upmarket Hotel in the Pilbara
RESIDENTS won’t have to put up with “sub-standard” accommodation around the Pilbara, in Western Australia, with the international Hilton Hotel announcing plans for a $65 million upmarket hotel in central Karratha.
The first Double Tree by Hilton Hotel will include 144 suites, 20 own-your-own apartments, bar, restaurant, fitness centre, pool and car parking.
The proposed eight level building (artist impression, below), in Karratha’s central commercial area will also include three function rooms.
“Today’s announcement is yet another example about how, not the government but the private sector, is embracing the opportunities of the Pilbara,” said minister for regional development and lands, Brendon Grylls.
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GPT Withdraws Half Share of MLC Tower After Failing to Draw a Bid
FUND manager and developer GPT Group has withdrawn from the market its half share of Sydney’s landmark MLC tower.
GPT was firm with its $373.2 million asking price.
As such, it is reported, no bids were received. The AFR reports about 30 international and domestic prospective buyers expressed an interest, however.
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YTL Group Buys Country’s Largest Ever Hotel Property Portfolio: $415 Million For Marriott Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
MALAYSIA’s YTL Corp has paid a reported $415 million for a portfolio of three major hotels on the eastern seaboard.
The three hotels – the Sydney Harbour Marriott at 30 Pitt StreetCircular Quay, the Melbourne Marriott at the corner of Exhibition and Lonsdale streets and the Brisbane Marriott at 515 Queen Street – represent what is believed to be the country’s largest ever hotel property portfolio measured by value.
Read moreFormer Royal Saxon Hotel, Melbourne, May be Replaced With Major Apartment Tower
ANOTHER proposal has been lodged that is so large that decision-making power bypasses council to rest with Planning Minister Matthew Guy.
This time, on land behind the historic former Royal Saxon Hotel at 441-447 Elizabeth Street, and affecting an adjoining property at 449 Elizabeth Street, a developer plans to develop a 50-level residential tower with 306 flats but just 119 car park bays.
The property was recently identified in the Melbourne City Council’s central heritage review as worthy of protection, being one of the oldest surviving buildings of its type.
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The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley, For Sale
POPULAR music venue The Tivoli in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, will be auctioned next month. The Brisbane business and freehold is
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Toxic Material Fears Stop Work at $6 Billion Barangaroo Project Again
A SECOND work stoppage in three months has plagued the much hyped development of Lend Lease Group’s $6 billion Barangaroo project, on a waterfront piece of the Sydney CBD.
Crumbled asbestos, believed to have been disturbed by trucks or other heavy vehicles accessing the site, are believed to have caused the concern this time. About 40 staff downed tools due to fear about toxic materials.
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) will meet today (June 26) to determine whether it was safe to resume work.
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Major Japan Builder Announces Eco-Friendly Coolum Residences, Sunshine Coast
HOMES which promise to provide “the most advanced eco-friendly design elements ever built in Australia” is being launched on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
The Coolum Residences will include photovoltaic roof tiles, insulated windows, wall ventilation and energy monitoring systems.
An announcement about the proposal and the developer – Japan’s largest home builder, Sekisui House, is copied below:
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Lend Lease Wins $315 Million Contract to Widen West Motorway, Sydney
LEND Lease has secured the $315 million contract to widen the M5 West Motorway in Sydney.
It will design and construct the upgrade which include interlink roads. Two lanes will be extended to three in each direction from Camden Valley Way, Prestons to King Georges Road, Beverly Hills.
Lend Lease’s construction business, Abigroup, has been working on the proposal since February 2010. Completion of the project is expected in December 2014.
Lend Lease announced the contract to the ASX this afternoon (June 26):
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Woollahra Council Approves Lachlan Murdoch’s $11.6 Extension, Bellevue Hill
THE Woollahra Municipal Council earlier this month approved the $11.6 million renovation of a Bellevue Hill home, lodged by Channel
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Australia’s Biggest Council Blames Carbon Tax For Chunk of Upcoming Rate Rises
THE federal Labor government’s carbon tax has been blamed for a spike in rates, to be passed on by Australia’s largest council next financial year.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the average ratepayer will face an increase of $54.62 per annum – reflecting a 4.5 per cent jump.
Mr Quirk said this rate could have limited to $31.48 a year (representing 2.6 per cent) if the carbon tax was removed.
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TAL Leases 10,500 Sq m in Sydney CBD
THE life insurer formerly known as Tower, and now, TAL, will relocate across from Sydney’s north to the CBD after committing to lease 10,500 square metres at 363 George Street, near Martin Place.
TAL will leave Milsons Point and Albert Street which it has called home for 40 years. The move will bring together the company’s 850 staff – including some currently located at another Martin Place office.
It’s new George Street office will spread across 12 levels. It fills part of 60,000 square metres being vacated by the Commonwealth Bank (which is moving to the Darling Quarter).
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Sentinel Spends $15.6 Million on Mackay Bulky Goods Complex, Queensland
SENTINEL Property Group has paid $15.6 million for the Northpoint Homemaker Centre in Mackay, Queensland.
The purchase is the second bulky goods complex acquired by the group in the state after it paid $25.75 million last December for The Zone complex at Rothwell.
The Mackay investment occupies a 29,191 square metre site, and has 11,407 square metres of net lettable retail area. It is leased to ten retailers including the listed Super Retail Group and The Good Guys.
The vendor according to the AFR which reported the deal was the 360 Capital Retail Fund.
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Half a Billion Invested Around Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall This Year
HALF a billion has been invested around Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall this year.
ISPT has been the biggest player, spending $100 million refurbishing the Wintergarden Shopping centre which included building a colourful thatched façade. The Melbourne based company also purchased a half share of the Myer Centre for $366 million, and invested another $60 million on the Broadway on the Mall complex.
Toward the casino the Blackstone owned Balad is selling 60 Queen Street for an expected price of between $30 million – $40 million.
The Brisbane City Council is looking to replicate Melbourne’s successful laneway retail concept with the Burnett Lane complex.
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British American Tobacco Australasian Plant, Pagewood, Sydney, to be Redeveloped
PLANS for a $56 million rebuild of British American Tobacco’s Australasian plant in Pagewood, Sydney, have been approved. Much of
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Major Supermarket Near Toowoomba Sells For $6.1 Million
THE largest supermarket in Oakley, a satellite town near Toowoomba in Queensland sold at auction last week for $6.1 million.
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Rail Infrastructure Worth More Than $18 Billion Announced For Metropolitan Sydney
SYDNEY will get a second harbor crossing under plans for a multibillion rail vision announced by Infrastructure NSW on June 20.
The crossing – with conservative cost estimates of $10 billion – will join the $8.5 billion North West Rail Link, set to be open in about 2019-20. The harbour crossing is not expected to start before then.
The crossing is needed for Sydney to use metro-style trains similar to those in London and Paris.
Coalition government advisers have speculated the tunnel cost would be considerably more than $10 billion – but Transport Minister Gladys Berejikian assured the AFR the infrastructure project will be built. The newspaper also included a map of the project.
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Origin Joins List of Major Tenants Seeking Brisbane Space
THE list of major tenants seeking office space in and around Brisbane is growing but agents do not expect this to translate to a massive rise in rents.
An Origin Energy joint venture, with its Australia Pacific LNG partner, is seeking 12,000 square metres by 2014, increasing to 30,000 square metres in 2016.
Pathology group Sullivan Nicolaides is considering a lease of more than 10,000 square metres – about the same as iron ore giant Vale, and advisory KPMG
The requirements come after Suncorp which had a requirement of 30,000 square metres agreed to move to the 42,000 square metre Southport Tower outside of the CBD owned, according to the AFR, by Anthony John Group.
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Seahaven Resort, Noosa Sells For $40 Million
BILLIONAIRE businessman John Van Leishout is understood to be paying some $40 million for the Seahaven Resort in Noosa, Queensland.
First listed for sale more than 18 months ago, and later reported as a deal that fell through, the resort at 9-21 Hastings Street includes 48 one and two bedroom apartments, 12 retail shops and a car park.
It spreads over a site of 4722 square metres – and has 100 metre frontage to the beach (pictured, right).
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Liberal Party (NSW division) Leases 100 William Street, Sydney
OFFICE space in the former Westfield building at 100 William Street, Sydney, has been leased by the Liberal Party of
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TopShop Unveils $1.85 Million Refurbishment of Ex Gowings Building, Sydney
UK retailer Topshop has unveiled plans for a $1.85 million refurbishment of its Sydney CBD headquarters.
The retailer has leased five levels of the former Gowings building – basement, lower ground, ground, mezzanine and first floor.
Plans for the refurbishment are on display according to the AFR which reported the retailer’s application.
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Major Developments Set to Start in Double Bay, Sydney
ONE of Sydney’s most exclusive suburbs is about to see a rise in apartment skyscraper activity.
This month, it is expected authorities will approve a $65 million plan to revitalize Double Bay.
The Kiaora Lands site on New South Head Road, of which a redevelopment proposal has been discussed for more than a decade, will make way for one of the suburb’s bigger proposal. Two new commercial sites will replace existing aged care buildings.
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PBA pays $15.6m for North Sydney office
THE Perth-based Property Bank Australia has paid $15.6 million for a North Sydney commercial investment.
It is the latest in a string of investments on the North Shore where PBA has invested recently.
Its latest acquisition, a five-level, 3540 square metre office on a 1034 square metre block at 51 Berry Street returns rent of $1.4 million per annum. It includes 42 car parks and had recently undergone capital value works.
The main tenant is ACE Limited which has occupied the building since new and recently signed a new five year lease.
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Lend Lease’s APPF Commercial Buys Into $6 Billion Barangaroo Development
LEND Lease’s “institutional flagship fund” APPF Commercial has reportedly acquired a small interest within the first two skyscrapers that will form part of the $6 billion Barangaroo project on Sydney Harbour.
It is speculated APPF’s stake is as little as between 7 and 12.5 per cent, which would exclude it from any decision making power on the project. Lend Lease and APPF Commercial declined to comment on the speculation reported by the AFR.
It’s understood major office tenants including Westpac and KPMG are to be announced as tenants in the two towers.
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Ashurst leases Sydney CBD office
A major leasing deal at the historic office known as the money box will result in additional levels being added
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Great Eagle Group Pays $40 Million For Observatory Hotel, Sydney
GREAT Eagle Group, the listed Hong Kong property company has paid about $40 million for the Observatory Hotel in Sydney (pictured, right).
The purchase will add to the group’s 13-strong portfolio of international hotels it currently manages under the Langham and Langham Place brands.
Already operating in Melbourne, and Asia, Europe and the United States, the purchase of the 96-room Georgian style grand 19th Century home allows the group to offer a Langham brand in Sydney.
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Two Adjacent Frenchs Forests Properties, Sydney, Sell For $32 Million
TWO adjacent properties in Warringah and Rodborough roads, Frenchs Forest, Sydney (aerial, right), have sold for $32 million. CVC Property
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NSW Transport Department Spents $48.5 Million on Epping Office Asset Which it Will Demolish
THE New South Wales state transport department has paid $48.5 million for a prominent suburban office park in Sydney, which it will bulldoze, as part of its $8.5 billion North-West Rail Link project.
The office park was offloaded by Abacus Property Group which paid $25 million for the asset in 1997.
A lot of the asset’s value lay in its residential redevelopment potential. Instead the site will become the location for the North West Rail Link’s Epping Services facility. The purchase gives the government four buildings near the Epping railway station and bus interchange in the suburban north-west.
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Target Signs Major Office Lease in St Kilda Road, Melbourne
RETAIL giant Target has leased 4462 square metres of office space on Melbourne city-fringe office market, St Kilda Road.
The Wesfarmers controlled group chose the building because of its proximity to the CBD and Flinders Street train station.
St Kilda Road office tenants have criticised (and vacated) the area which is only serviced by train. At it’s peak St Kilda Road had more than 800,000 square metres of available office space, but no developer has proposed a new office in more than ten years.
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Ingenia Communities Sells Corio Retirement Village to Residential Developer For $3.1 Million
INGENIA Communities, formerly controlled by Dutch investment giant ING and from earlier this month, a separate ASX listed company, has sold the Lovely Banks Gardens near Geelong.
The 65-unit village Corio village sold conditional on a rezoning which would allow for a residential redevelopment. A Victorian developer is said to be purchasing the site near Lindsay Fox’s Avalon Airport.
In 2010, Ingenia ruled the “poor performing” asset as “non core” to its portfolio. It will pump funds from the sale into other developments, conversions and acquisition opportunities it is hoped will earn a return-on-investment of some 20 per cent.
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Olivia Newton John Cancer and Wellness Centre Opens in Heidelberg, Melbourne
TWENTY years after being diagnosed with breast cancer, Australian entertainer Olivia Newton-John opened a landmark rehabilitation centre in Melbourne’s north-east this month (pictured, far right).
Olivia Newton-John thanked the Baillieu Liberal government for finalising funding for the $189 million Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre, which includes day and radiation oncology and complementary therapies such as acupuncture, massage, yoga, meditation and homeopathy.
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Calamvale Central sells for $62m
THE Australian Property Growth Fund, as trustee for the Domaine SEQ Growth Fund which is being wound up, has sold the Calamvale Central Shopping Centre in Brisbane for $62 million.
The sale price reflects a yield of passing yield of 8.15 per cent.
The 17,326 square metre complex at 662 Compton Road in Calamvale, in the city’s southern suburbs, is anchored by two retailers until 2027: Woolworths and Big W. It also includes 61 specialty stores.
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US-based Pramerica Buys 575 Bourke Street, Melbourne, For Speculated $75 Million
PRAMERICA, US-based global real estate investor, is reported to be paying about $75 million for a 16-level office building in Melbourne’s CBD.
The 16,200 square metre office at 575 Bourke Street was offloaded by the Valad Property Group’s V Fund. The fund manager acquired the asset for $50.87 million in 2005.
Pramerica’s acquisition, reported in The Australian’s Primespace section, is the latest in a string of national commercial assets.
Read moreVictorian Councils Added to the List of Carbon Tax Payers
DAYS before the federal labor government’s carbon tax is set to take effect, several Victorian councils have discovered they have been added to the list of some 500 companies set to pay.
The councils of Hume, Geelong, Wyndham and Bendigo have been included on the mystery list of polluters set to pay the tax. Several other councils in Victoria and around Australia are expected to be added in coming days.
Voters and the business community have criticised the hush-hush method the Labor government has decided to announce the polluters which will pay the tax.
Read moreFairfax, News shuffle real estate
Fairfax can expect 20-$25 million from its high-tech printing and distribution facility at Westmeadows near Melbourne Airport. The media group
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Lang Walker Takes Low Density Road For Last Piece of Kew Cottages Site
BILLIONAIRE businessman Lang Walker has decided against another fight with Kew residents, east of Melbourne.
Announcing the final stage of the $400 million Kew Cottages site redevelopment this month, his company, Walker Corporation, shelved plans for five level apartment complexes capable of including 100 flats, and instead will build eight standalone $2 million homes on the 3240 square metre final portion of land.
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Pace Proposes Colourful 18-Level Tower For St Kilda Junction
THE Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal will decide whether a developer can replace rundown offices at one of Melbourne’s busiest intersections with a colourful, 18-level apartment tower, sure to be a landmark within the bayside suburb of St Kilda.
Plans for the 2-8 St Kilda Road proposal show a unique building which will appear as several stacks packed on top of each other. Each stack (of between two to four levels of apartments) are burgundy, teal, orange, green, yellow and white.
The City of Port Phillip council refused the application citing height, scale and intensity concerns. Mayor Rachel Powning warned the building would negatively impact traffic flow and road safety around the St Kilda junction which connects St Kilda Road with Fitzroy Street, Punt, Dandenong and Queens roads.
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Vasey RSL Care Sells Hawthorn Hostel For $7 Million
VASEY RSL Care has reaped almost $7 million from the sale of a disused hostel on a massive block of land in one of Hawthorn’s more revered streets.
The 3560 square metre block at 20 Lisson Grove not far from the Yarra River and Richmond border is understood to have sold to a residential developer, but this could not be confirmed with Kliger Wood selling agents Nick Breheny or Eugene Wood.
Not far away on the corner of Lisson Grove and Glenferrie Road, the former Hawthorn Receptions Centre hit the market earlier this month with price expectations of about $8.5 million.
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LPD Sells Office Component of Armadale Complex For $14.5 Million
LITTLE Project Developments – the construction company of local billionaire entrepreneur Paul Little – has reaped $14.5 million selling off the commercial component of a five-level building in Armadale.
The 863 High Street asset includes 615 square metres of retail space, 2567 square metres of A-grade offices, and 64 car parks.
For years until it was demolished in 2009, the site was home to the Geddes antiques store. LPD has also built and separately sold townhouses and apartments on the site.
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Seventeen levels proposed at Essendon
The owners of an Essendon shopping centre have proposed a residential-based mixed-use complex with three towers – the tallest rising
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CCB Leases Collins Street Office, Melbourne
CHINA Construction Bank (CCB) – reportedly the world’s second largest bank measured by market capitalization – has arrived in Melbourne.
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Australian Ballet Spends $10 Million on Altona Office Warehouse
AUSTRALAND Property Group has sold an as yet unbuilt office and warehouse facility in Melbourne’s west to the Australian Ballet.
The 9840 square metre facility within the Access Altona estate in Altona will start construction this month, and is due for completion at the end of the year.
Australian Ballet, a national dance group, will amongst other things, store scenery, props, lighting and costume equipment at the new facility.
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Sunshine West Shopping Centre, Melbourne, Sells For $4.95 Million
THE SHOPPING Centre, at 136 The Avenue, in Sunshine West, Melbourne, sold to a high net worth private investor for
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Tourism Asset Holdings to Sell Prominent St Kilda Novotel Complex
TOURISM Asset Holdings Limited can expect to make between $55 and $60 million from the sale of the landmark Novotel
Read moreBunnings Outgoing Hoppers Crossing Store, Melbourne, Sells For $14.6 million
A BUNNINGS trust has sold a prominent Hoppers Crossing warehouse to a local private investor for $14.6 million.
Based on the $1.23 million annual rent the Bunnings store pays, the 2.7-hectare site, with a 8500 square metre warehouse and 310 car park bays, sold on a yield of 8.45 per cent.
Bunnings is committed to 163-169 Old Geelong Road until March 2020, when it will reportedly relocate to an as yet unbuilt warehouse nearby.
According to CBRE selling agent Justin Dowers, who marketed the asset with Mark Wizel, new Bunnings stores including those in Vermont South and in Mentone (which is nearing construction), at between 16,000 and 18,000 square metres, are about twice the size of the Hoppers Crossing store.
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$30 Million Mixed Use Project in Hawthorn, Melbourne, Sells Out
LOCAL developer Drive Projects with Interlandi Mantesso Architects has pocketed almost $30 million from the sale of apartments and strata office suites within a prominent mixed-use project abutting Swinburne University’s Hawthorn campus.
The six-level project at 523 Burwood Road includes almost 50 flats and upper-level strata office suites. Earlier this year, the fifth level of the building, with a 415-square-metre office, 134 square metre terrace and 12 car park spaces sold for about $2.45 million.
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Greencor spends $26m in Wollert
Local developer Greencor is paying $26 million for a 57 hectare farm on Bodycoats Road in Wollert. Marketed as ”the
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