US group circles Castlereagh St office tower
Funds house LaSalle Investment Management is targeting the purchase of a major Sydney tower in Castlereagh St for about $325 million as the rerating of the city’s office market continues.
The US investment manager is circling the Central Square complex at 323 Castlereagh St and it will look to capitalise on the property’s repositioning potential as part of its core-plus strategy.
The prospective purchase comes as the southern end of the Sydney CBD is transformed with new older buildings being overhauled.
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Developers including Charter Hall and ARA Asset Management have repositioned buildings in order to win new tenancies.
Both the NSW government and WeWork are headed to new buildings and the multi-tenanted tower at 323 Castlereagh St could also be repositioned.
The deal being brokered by Knight Frank’s Paul Roberts and Tim Holtsbaum has been under wraps although the site also drew interest from fund manager Altis. They did not comment and nor did Lasalle.
Developers have chased the building as it holds the potential to be overhauled into a top class asset in future and it sits on the cusp of a planned technology precinct around Central station that the NSW government is close to unveiling.
Central Square is a 24-storey building that stands on the former Hotel Sydney/Tivoli Theatre site. The portico, lobby and lifts were refurbished in mid-2018 in the latest upgrade since it was built by Lend Lease in 1972. The B-grade tower spans a gross floor area 37,500sqm and it has a net office area of 26,295sqm. The property has been owned by MKH Properties since 1993.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
