Savills has been appointed by Blacktown City Council to market a former animal holding facility in the highly sought-after Huntingwood industrial precinct in Western Sydney.

Located at 415 Flushcombe Road in Huntingwood East, the 46,164 square metre development site boasts corner exposure with a prominent 327m frontage to Great Western Highway as well as frontages to both Flushcombe Road and Oatley Close. It also has easy access to both the M4 and M7 Motorways and is zoned IN1 General Industrial with DA approval for two lots.

Blacktown City Council will move the existing animals to new and improved accommodation, with plans to construct a $30 million state-of-the-art Animal Rehoming Centre (BARC) at 20 Owen Street, Glendenning. Set to be Australia’s first custom-built animal rehoming centre, the new facility will feature a cattery, dog kennels, adoption condos and kennels, surgical spaces and more.

Ray Trimboli, Director of Industrial and Logistics at Savills says the Huntingwood site represents one of a few development sites within the central Sydney market that owners or developers could access for immediate development.

“The site represents a rare opportunity for developers and owner-occupiers to acquire an industrial zoned greenfield site within the M7 Motorway. Huntingwood is one of the most centrally located industrial precincts in the Sydney market with immediate access to its major road networks,” said Mr. Trimboli.

“We’ve seen occupiers increasingly look to optimise their fulfilment models, either because they are increasing their stock holdings to mitigate supply chain risk or to develop shorter delivery time frames to maximise their operational efficiency.

“This has intensified the demand for areas with linkages to Sydney’s orbital network, in turn keeping vacancy at record low.”

Situated just 4km from Blacktown and 14km from Parramatta CBD, the industrial site offers outstanding connections to Western Sydney’s arterial road network and interstate B-double transport routes, with exposure to approximately 34,000 vehicles each day on the Great Western Highway. The precinct is home to a wide range of major occupiers including Metcash, Toll, Volvo, Nestle and DHL.

Michael Wall, National Head of Industrial and Logistics at Savills says he expects both developers and owner occupiers to pursue the opportunity, with unprecedented tenant demand and limited stock availability continuing to drive growth in Western Sydney.

“Right now, we are tracking a sub 1% vacancy rate on investment grade stock above 3,000sqm in Western Sydney. This shift in demand is up against constrained supply, despite an uptick in the development pipeline, resulting in a 28-30% rental growth rate on assets in the last 12 months. In fact, the combination of intense competition for few availabilities and no significant supply relief has seen growth rates jump well above their long run average of about 3.3%. This outperformance continues to drive demand for industrial development land from developers looking at the rental growth outlook in Sydney.

“This substantial rental growth, alongside a shortage of existing options and record pre- leasing commitment on new builds, has also resulted in a notable increase in interest from major groups to own their facilities,” said Mr. Wall.

The Australian and NSW Governments are currently partnering to deliver a 10-year, $4.1 billion road investment program for Western Sydney, designed to capitalise on the economic benefits of the region, presenting a major opportunity to capitalise on significant growth within the area.

415 Flushcombe Road is offered for sale via Expressions of Interest closing at 4pm Wednesday 16 November 2022.