Consortium swoops on Kensington’s Younghusband site
ASX-listed Irongate Group, local construction firm Built and Canada’s Ivanhoé Cambridge are paying $60 million for Kensington’s Younghusband site.
The amalgamation – 1.5 hectares across two blocks – was offered last July by the Liberman family backed Impact Investment Group, which paid EG $30.25m in 2016.
IIG also master-planned a $400m redevelopment incorporating heritage components, containing offices, retail and high tech industrial – a project the buying consortium is set to proceed with.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Leigh Melbourne and Nick Rathgeber with Richard Butler Property Advisors’ Rick Butler were the selling agents.
Kensington is four kilometres north west of Melbourne.
Younghusband redevelopment
Covering 1-7 and 2-50 Elizabeth Street and 2-12 Barrett, the Younghusband holding includes two century old, multi-level, red brick warehouses and smaller historic buildings – all up with 29,168 sqm.
IIG obtained a permit to replace about 17,600 sqm of the existing buildings with offices and retail and add an eight level, c16,000 sqm commercial building.
A third stage – not yet approved – would add c56,000 sqm of commercial space including co-work industrial workspaces (story continues below).
The new owners are set to start redeveloping the site from 2024.
“As we accelerate our growth in Australia, this new acquisition is another demonstration of our strategy to develop mixed-use projects at the core of urban regeneration initiatives,” Ivanhoé Cambridge co-head, Asia Pacific, George Agethen, said.
“In this context, we are delighted to start a new partnership with Irongate and Built to deliver this iconic project,” he added.
Ivanhoé has been an active Australian property investor – in March teaming with Stockland to create a $2 billion life sciences building in Sydney’s north west Macquarie Park.
Last year the Canadian group partnered with AustralianSuper, TCorp and AXA IM Alts to buy into the multi-asset $1.67b Moorebank Logistics Park, which LOGOS’ acquired not long earlier from Qube.
Irongate, meanwhile, has recently been the subject of two buyout offers, first by major shareholder, Tony Pitt led 360 Capital Group then in January, Charter Hall on behalf of Dutch pension fund PGGM.
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