Centennial Pays $60m for Ninth Asset in Bris Precinct

What has been labelled the last developable freehold site of scale in the northern Australia TradeCoast precinct in Brisbane has changed hands for $61.35 million.

Centennial and global real estate investment group Phoenix Property Investors have teamed up to acquire the 15.4ha site neighbouring the Brisbane Airport.

The asset at 142 Marine Drive comprises up to 12.1ha of usable land holding an end value of around $240 million, Centennial said.

The property investment management group plans to develop the site into an institutional grade multi-tenanted estate targeting metro industrial and logistics occupiers. Civil earthworks are to start after settlement this month and construction is slated to begin early next year.

On completion the site will offer 40,570sq m of gross lettable area and 3.4ha of outdoor storage hardstand areas, Centennial said.

Michael Callow and Dan Munnich of CG Property and Cushman & Wakefield’s Myles Fredericksen and Morgan Ruig handled the transaction.

Centennial joint managing director Paul Ford said the purchase of Marine Drive had been the culmination of a long, off-market process and Centennial’s ability to assess value and navigate complex issues.

“We have had our eye on the site for over two years given land in this area, and particularly freehold land outside the Brisbane Airport and Port of Brisbane’s own leasehold industrial parks, is very scarce,” Ford said.

“We’ve spent a considerable amount of time evaluating the site to maximise its full potential to extract value and we’re very happy with the attractive pricing reached for such a prominent land parcel in a supply constrained location.

“The limited availability of modern stock and freehold land within the northern TradeCoast and nearby industrial suburbs will continue to place upward pressure on rents indefinitely.”

Phoenix Property Investors, a Pan-Asian private equity real estate investment group, ranks among Asia’s largest real estate private equity funds.

Since its inception in 2002, the firm has managed more than US$17 billion in assets. About US$1.6 billion has been committed to investments in Australia via its capital partnership model.

Phoenix Property Investors partner and head of Australia Trent Winduss said its investment in the industrial and logistics precinct “reflects our high conviction in the sector—particularly inner-urban logistics, where structural tailwinds continue to drive demand”.

“This project marks the seventh investment for our flagship US$1.2 billion opportunistic fund series, which targets compelling real estate opportunities across developed Asia, with a particular focus on Japan and Australia.”

“We continue to see strong interest from institutional investors globally in this sector. Our longstanding presence in the region, coupled with our experienced team on-the-ground, enables access to high-quality partners, differentiated opportunities, and a proven ability to execute with discipline.”

Marine Drive is Centennial’s ninth asset in Brisbane’s Australia TradeCoast economic zone, for a combined end value of $513 million across 21 hectares.