Amart founder picks up Ipswich mall, dwellings
Amart founder, billionaire, John Van Lieshout, has acquired an Ipswich shopping centre and three adjoining residential properties from the family of late real estate agent and developer, Derek Glode.
All up covering 1.38 hectares, the highest profile component of which is the Raceview Shopping Centre, the deal is worth $10.25 million.
A revitalisation is planned – possibly with new product.
Blue Commercial’s Gary O’Shea and Herman Hunt, the agents, closed an expressions of interest campaign last month.
Raceview is a growth corridor suburb about 40 kilometres south west of Brisbane’s CBD.
From 24c to $742 a sqm
Offered for the first time since it was developed in 1973, the Raceview Shopping Centre contains 21 retail tenancies.
Australia Post is the highest profile occupier. There is also a dentist.
The three residential properties contain a total 16 units.
Mr Glode, who died in 2021, said during a prior marketing campaign he paid a price equating to 24 cents a sqm for the land which immediately made way for the centre, which had been for sale months.
The latest sale values each sqm at $742 (story continues below).
In 2009, Mr Glode won permission to replace the residential component with 31 townhouses.
Unison invests again
The Raceview deals come a year since Unison outlaid $5.6m for a 9200 sqm site on the Gold Coast’s Hope Island.
Permit ready for a seven storey apartment tower, the group will instead build 42 townhouses around a communal pool, sauna, spa, fire pit and alfresco dining space – a project dubbed Santa Monica Residences.
Mr Van Lieshout’s portfolio also includes the former Federal Boot factory in Newstead, Brisbane.
In 2021, again in Brisbane, the executive expanded a McGregor large format retail investment with 1.1ha costing $17.5m.
“With a low site coverage ratio, the [Raceview] property is ideal for Unison Projects to explore options to amalgamate all four sites for a large-scale redevelopment or conduct a comprehensive refurbishment that capitalises on its position as Raceview’s main provider of essential services,” Mr O’Shea said.
“Currently experiencing the highest rate of growth of any south east council in Queensland, Ipswich’s population is projected to double over the next two decades, positioning Raceview Shopping Centre to benefit from several transformative infrastructure projects,” he added.
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