Century-Old Brisbane Office Block Makes Market Debut

Nearly a century after it was built, an inner-city building in Brisbane has come to market for the first time.

Lister House at 79 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, built in 1930, comprises a three-storey medical-commercial asset and six onsite carparks.

Occupied by a medical centre, it has 1009sq m of gross floor area on a 562sq m site, and has access from Wickham Terrace and Cousins Lane.

It is being sold via an expressions-of-interest campaign by Knight Frank agents Hayden Ryan, Jacob Heinke and Blake Goddard.

The property is being sold with a leaseback to the medical centre, the Brisbane Clinic. 

Lister House was designed by Raymond C. Nowland and was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992.

It was purpose-designed as medical suites for Lister House Ltd, a group of medical practitioners and like its neighbour, The Inchcolm hotel, is built on the site of the first Inchcolm building.

In 1929 Lister House Ltd acquired the site from the Wharf Street Congregational Church, the church having decided to construct their new church on a more central site.

▲ The building was purpose built as medical suites in 1930.

Lister House Ltd then commissioned the Brisbane-based Nowland to design a building that could function along the lines of the Mayo Clinic in the US.

The basement was designed specifically to accommodate an X-ray unit, and continues to do so.

The Inchcolm hotel was also built in 1930, and converted to a hotel in 1998.

Ryan said Lister House was one of the most historic assets Brisbane has to offer. 

“The Wickham Terrace building offers investors and owner-occupiers the opportunity to acquire a high-quality commercial asset on the outskirts of the Brisbane CBD,” he said.

“Given the current lack of stock on the market in the city fringe, we expect strong interest from local and interstate purchasers.

“The leaseback to Brisbane Clinic will provide a purchaser substantial holding income from a longstanding occupier, with the property also having strong growth prospects given its strategic location along Wickham Terrace.”

The expressions-of-interest campaign is due to close on May 22.