Leading Australian property fund manager Centennial has completed the strategic acquisition of three adjoining sites in Brisbane’s inner southern suburb of Willawong for a combined purchase price of $14.35M, in a joint venture with real estate investor and financier, MaxCap Group.

The deal was brokered by Jack Barrett, State Director at Agency HQ Commercial, who brought together three separate, like-minded vendors to unlock the additional value created by the amalgamation of the three properties.

Centennial has since lodged a Development Application with Brisbane City Council for a new 32,000sqm estate, which will be known as The Link Industrial Park.

Centennial has also commenced tendering for the construction of the park, which will comprise nine state-of-the-art, flexible, sustainable, mid-space office/warehouse tenancies, to will be constructed on a speculative basis with an estimated completion date in Q4 2023.

When complete, the project will achieve a total site coverage of about 50% and will deliver Centennial and MaxCap a completion value of approximately $90m.

Centennial’s Executive Director and CEO – Industrial & Logistics, Paul Ford said the acquisitions strengthen the company’s growing and niche portfolio within the industrial and logistics ‘mid-space’ market. According to SA1, Centennial is now the third largest manager of ‘mid-space’ assets in the Brisbane market.

“The strategic off-market purchase of these sites in Willawong has been completed in line with our focus on delivering institutional grade ‘mid-space’ warehouse accommodation, with strong connectivity to major distribution networks in land-constrained, inner-ring locations at scale, and will enhance Centennial’s geographic diversification in the Queensland market,” said Mr Ford.

“When complete, the estate at 142-172 Sherbrooke Road will have significant appeal for a broad range of end user customers courtesy of Willawong’s land-constrained, last-mile location, quality of design and finishes and flexibility in the range of warehouse configurations and sizes, from 1,200sqm GLA right up to 20,000 sqm GLA.”

Simon Hulett, MaxCap’s Head of Direct Investment, added: “The acquisition was a strong strategic fit for our MaxCap Diversified Opportunity Fund (MDOF), partnering with a high-quality group like Centennial in a tightly held Brisbane last mile industrial location.”

Meanwhile, Mr Barrett backed Mr Ford’s comments, confirming the quality and desirability of the location for mid-space businesses.

“It’s relatively rare to find a such a significant parcel of land in this location, and with record low vacancy in the core Central South precinct around Acacia Ridge and Coopers Plains, there is currently significant interest in new buildings in Willawong,” explained Mr Barrett.

“Not only does Willawong offer these businesses a location that is close to their current sites, thereby improving efficiency and continuity, it also provides a handy solution in addressing staff retention.”

Centennial’s Development Manager, James Park, added: “The Willawong locality is highly land-constrained due to fractious ownership, but the amalgamation of these sites on Sherbrooke Road provides an excellent opportunity for end users seeking connectivity to local and regional markets.

“The area has and continues to benefit from the demand driven by users in the Acacia Ridge and Salisbury precincts requiring higher quality and more flexible accommodation not available in the immediate area.”

Upon completion, The Link Industrial Park will offer direct access to Brisbane’s transport hubs and major arterials, including the Gateway, Logan and Ipswich Motorways (within 10kms) and Pacific Highway (13kms), ensuring connectivity to the city’s port (29km) and airport (35km).”  

The new estate is located midway between the Logan Motorway to the south and the Acacia Ridge Rail Marshalling Yards to the north.