Sydney’s Central Park offers retail section for $170m
Singapore’s Frasers Property Australia and Japan’s Sekisui House are looking to defy gloom in the retail property market by selling the retail component of their $2 billion mixed-use Central Park development in Sydney.
The offer of the $170 million inner-city complex is expected to draw a new breed of buyers who are chasing leisure-based assets rather than traditional centres, which are suffering as department store sales sag.
Major landlords, including Mirvac, Lendlease and Scentre, are switching focus to lifestyle centres and the Central Park property sits beneath a recognisable luxury apartment tower.
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While some centres are falling in value, the best city retail assets are still rising in value on the back of their performance.
Asian groups familiar with the Frasers operation are already keen on the property.
These retail assets serve a large and growing catchment from a highly prominent and easily accessible location
With the 12-year project in Sydney’s downtown CBD near complete, the joint venture partners want to sell the remaining three retail assets — Central Park Mall, DUO Retail and Park Lane Retail — in one line.
Best known for its vertical gardens and heliostat, Central Park is unrecognisable from its past as a brewery site. It also sports offices, hotels and student accommodation that have already been sold.
“The precinct has won multiple awards in design and liveability and we are searching for the right buyer to keep the retail offer evolving,” Frasers development director Mick Caddey says.
“These retail assets serve a large and growing catchment from a highly prominent and easily accessible location.”
The shops will benefit from Central Station’s $955 million upgrade and a planned technology precinct nearby, led by a commitment from software giant Atlassian. Colliers International’s Lachlan MacGillivray is selling the asset, which comprises Central Park Mall, DUO Retail and Park Lane Retail.
Central Park Mall opened in late 2013 and is anchored by a high-performing Woolworths supermarket and a Palace Cinema complex.
The joint venture partners want to sell the remaining three retail assets — Central Park Mall, DUO Retail and Park Lane Retail — in one line
The property spans 14,600sqm of lettable area across five levels with a mix of entertainment, fashion and experiential retailing, as well as a world-class alfresco dining precinct.
Recent sales of Sydney CBD retail assets highlight strong investor demand for the still tightly held assets class, with a one quarter interest in MidCity Centre selling at a yield of about 4% to Hong Kong’s Cheng family and Pitt Street’s Soul Pattinson Building selling for $95 million at 4% to Sydney retail landlord Victor Comino.
Frasers has separately picked up a 41.3ha prime industrial land parcel in Melbourne’s southeast industrial precinct for $80 million.
The site in Dandenong South was sold via Savills and will become a $300m industrial estate.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
