BPM Acquires Toowong Development Site

Property developer BPM is cementing its presence in Brisbane with the acquisition of two neighbouring sites in Toowong, with a combined purchase price of $8.2 million, signalling the developer’s sixth Brisbane project.

This transaction follows the recent sale of BPM’s 15-85 Gladstone Street, South Melbourne site to Singapore-listed developer Chip Eng Seng, allowing BPM to diversify its current focus to medium-density projects catering to the local owner-occupier market.

BPM founder and managing director, Jonathan Hallinan, said that he was committed to making BPM a truly national brand and was keen to broaden and grow the business following the sale of the South Melbourne site.

“While we are keen to continue pursuing key large-scale projects, such as Shadow Play in South Melbourne, our heritage is in small to medium density developments," Mr Hallinan said.

"We feel there are significant opportunities to apply our luxury approach and design aesthetic to this type of project and the sale of Gladstone Street allows us to capitalise on key opportunities such as Toowong."“The Toowong project is targeted at the owner-occupier market which follows the success of similar recent projects for BPM, particularly in strong growth markets like Toowong."The 5,984 square metre Gladstone Street site was purchased from MAB Corp in April 2015 for $37 million and sold to newly incorporated subsidiary, CES Gladstone, for $52 million.

The 1,500 square metre Toowong site represents the amalgamation of two sites including 15 Archer Street and 628 Coronation Drive, acquired following BPM’s direct negotiation with the vendors.

Brisbane-based architects, The NRA Collaborative, has been appointed to deliver the project which is expected to comprise 115 apartments, as well as one ground floor retail space, a rooftop bar and pool, which will be owned and operated by BPM as part of its vertically integrated business model.

BPM expects to submit its planning application to Brisbane City Council over the coming weeks. Project sales are scheduled to commence in September 2016, with construction anticipated to commence in March 2017.

In 2013, Hallinan created BPM Built Brisbane which was responsible for delivering BPM’s $76 million Highline project (pictured) located on Buchanan Street in Brisbane’s West End.