Queensland’s largest waterfront urban renewal project, the $5 billion Northshore precinct, will be home to four new commercial buildings after a significant cash injection from private equity investor Alceon.
The Northshore Hamilton waterfront renewal masterplan—located six kilometres from the Brisbane CBD—is the largest renewal project in Queensland, stretching across 2.5 kilometres of riverfront land in what is largely an industrial area.
Alongside new offices, the masterplan will offer new residential, retail and entertainment development.
Once complete the waterside precinct is to deliver housing for approximately 15,000 people and office accommodation for 10,000 workers daily across the 304 hectare site.
Alceon, which has a development agreement with the Queensland government’s property development agency to build 100,000sq m of new offices space at the masterplan’s business park, has completed four towers and a childcare centre to date.
Alceon has developed and sold properties at 365 and 375 Macarthur Avenue to investor CorVal and a private high net worth investor respectively and is now anticipating construction of the first building its 385 Macarthur Avenue site to start before the end of the year.
Alceon project director Paul Huston said the construction of the new commercial buildings at Northshore would provide much needed accommodation for a range of land uses including commercial office, research and development and high-tech warehousing.
Existing tenants in BTP Northshore include Puma Energy, Harris Communications, Fujitsu, Becton Dickinson and Clinical Network Services.
“We will commence construction without pre-commitment and historically we have generally achieved approximately 70 per cent leased during the construction on the four buildings that have already been completed,” Alceon Queensland executive director Todd Pepper told The Urban Developer.
The first building, designed by Blight Rayner, will be built by Graystone—a joint venture partner on the project—who has constructed all Alceon’s previous Northshore buildings to date.
The buildings will be completed to an A grade suburban office standard and a min 4.5 star Nabers design.
The total value of the total project will be significantly more than Alceon’s initial injection—when all four buildings are considered— in excess of $100 million.
Alceon recently partnered with the powerful Lowy family and former Westfield chief operating officer Michael Gutman to form the Assembly Funds Management, a diversified property fund to invest into real estate equity and debt deals.
After this initial round of capital raising, the fund will raise another $150 million from local and foreign high net worth family offices and institutional investors over the next two years targeting $450 million.
Source: theurbandeveloper.com