Sydney businessman Sam Harb leases Greenacre industrial project prior to completion
Sam Harb – one of Sydney’s most prolific and famous paving contractors – has leased all of an eight-unit industrial estate he is developing in the city’s south west.
The distinctive project, 61-65 Roberts Road, Greenacre (pictured, top), is identified with graffiti murals and a mezzanine feature window designed to resemble shipping containers.
The last of the office/warehouses – a 1252 square metre space – has just been tenanted to Powerark Solar for three years at a starting annual rent of c$135 per square metre.
Outgoings and Goods and Services Tax will also be picked up by the occupier for the term.
Powerark Solar will relocate from a smaller facility at Regent Park, about 22 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD.
CBRE’s Raj Chaudhary and Cathy Henderson found Powerark Solar for Mr Harb – who is known locally by the moniker, also his businesses name, Sam the Paving Man.
The brokers said units within the industrial park contain a lower percentage of office area than other properties for lease in the precinct – adding this split is what “many occupiers now require”.
“Sam has…been one of the first developers in the area to adapt to changing market requirements in regard to the ratio of office to warehouse space that many occupiers now require,” Mr Chaudhary said.
“Typically, units in the area have comprised 25 per cent office space, whereas these units have an additional component of under 10 per cent and in some cases as low as 5 per cent.
“This has been a huge selling point and reflects the lower requirement industrial occupiers have for office space in a market that’s being shaped by e-commerce and flexible work practices”.
Mr Harb has laid pavers at landmark Sydney sites including the Opera House, Barangaroo, Pitt Street Mall, Star Casino, Olympic Park and the recent Darling Harbour redevelopment.
The Sam the Paving Man business was established in a small shipping container soon after Mr Harb immigrated to Australia in 1975.
Mr Harb attributes the leasing success of 61-65 Roberts Road to “unique features” and an “urban take on industrial design”.
