Ipswich shopping hub sold for more per hectare than Toombul

Karalee Shopping Village has been sold for $76m.

An Ipswich shopping centre has landed a $76 million payday for veteran developer Don O’Rorke and his business partners – beating iconic Toombul’s per-hectare land rate.

Karalee Shopping Village in Chuwar has been snapped up by an Australian-based Taiwanese investor in a blockbuster $76 million deal.

Developer Don O’Rorke from Consolidated Properties Group said they created a solid site over a decade. Picture David Clark

The 11,460 sqm complex sits on a 4.6-hectare corner site with a 99 per cent occupancy rate – anchored by supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths, which occupy 62 per cent of the space and bring in over $81 million at the till each year.

Joint owners Consolidated Properties Group (CPG) – headed by Mr O’Rorke – and CVS Lane Capital Partners confirmed the unconditional sale was struck at a yield of approximately 5.5 per cent, with settlement scheduled for October 2026.

The complex is one of six high-performing neighbourhood shopping centres being sold by the CPG-CVS partnership across South East Queensland.

At approximately $16.5 million per hectare, the sale beats Toombul’s recent sell-off by Mirvac which plummeted to $9.6m/ha after the 2022 floods and its subsequent demolition – and marks a massive market shift as buyers pay top dollar for flood-safe, guaranteed cash flow in South East Queensland’s booming growth corridors.

The unconditional sale of the 4.6 hectare site, to an Australian based Taiwanese investor, has been struck at a yield of circa 5.5 per cent, with settlement scheduled for October 2026.

The almost 10 hectare Toombul Shopping Centre site pictured in February 2024 by Steve Muir-McCarey before the area was levelled. Picture Facebook

When developer Mirvac bought Brisbane’s Toombul Shopping Centre in 2016 for $233.3 million, the operating 9.88-hectare asset traded at roughly $23.6 million per hectare – before selling to Irvine Property Group in late 2025 at a much reduced rate.

CPG executive chairman Don O’Rorke said the sale reflected the value they’d created in the property after a decade of ownership.

“Karalee’s sale reflects the successful execution of our long-term strategy to develop and reposition the centre in line with strong population growth and local community needs and crystallises the value that we have built into the asset over more than a decade of ownership,” Mr O’Rorke said.

Joint owners Consolidated Properties Group (CPG) and CVS Lane Capital Partners (CVS Lane) developed the Karalee project for decade.

CVS Lane CEO Lee Centra said the result showed there was ongoing appeal in convenience-based retail hubs – with this one in particular a significant milestone and “a pleasing outcome for investors”.

“The level of market interest received throughout the campaign also reinforces the ongoing appeal of well-located, non-discretionary retail assets with secure income profiles.”

CBRE state director for Queensland retail investments Joe Tynan and JLL executive director Jacob Swan confirmed the property saw aggressive interest from both domestic and offshore investors trying to position themselves into prime commercial real estate.

“Achieving a $76 million sale reflects the depth of buyer demand for tightly held, dual-supermarket-anchored centres with secure income and exposure to South East Queensland’s high-growth communities,” Mr Tynan said.

Mr Swan said “investors are prepared to move decisively for high-quality retail assets offering defensive income and long-term growth potential.”