Telstra banks $22m from prominent inner-city exchange
Telstra has sold the 1260 square metre balance of a prominent former exchange.
The telco banked $22 million from developer, Matta, for 103-109 George Street, Redfern – a three level c1974 brown brick building abutting a seven-storey concrete framed c1957 exchange.
The two properties formed part of the c1913 Redfern Telephone Exchange with the neighbouring holding, 117A Redfern St.
With a c1913 red brick building, that site met the threshold for a heritage listing.
The Matta one doesn’t, the City of Sydney concluded in April following an application to remove a control.
Also today we are reporting Telstra is selling an outgoing exchange in Melbourne’s bayside Sandringham, with plans for a 12-level building capturing water and city views.
6.4 per cent yield
Telstra sold 117A Redfern Street to the Aboriginal Medical Service Co-Operative for $1.54m in 2012.
It listed 103-109 George St via an expressions-of-interest campaign closing last March, with a three-year leaseback with two one-year options; the connected building contains 4000 sqm with infrastructure needing to be moved (continues below).
The starting income is $1.4m pa with fixed 3.75pc annual increases.
The telco also offered a scheme for a residential or commercial conversion capturing the E1 Local Centre zoned site’s 360 degree view corridors – protected because of the heritage constraints of the neighbouring Redfern St holding.
“The Redfern property is a key site in the context of Sydney’s inner-city fringe, given that the current building envelope is already over-code and therefore there’s underlying value in the existing improvements,” Knight Frank marketing agent, Will Brassil, who brokered the deal with Andrew Harford, said upon listing.
“The zoning permits a range of future options including residential, student accommodation, traditional office or a medical development,” he added.
Redfern is about three kilometres south of Sydney’s CBD,
The deal comes five months since realestatesource.com.au reported the Gravanis brothers’ Oscars Hotels bought a multi-level outgoing exchange from Telstra, in Kogarah, to repurpose as a hospitality venue.
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