Shopping Centre in Darwin’s North Tipped to Fetch $40m

A shopping centre in northern Darwin that has been in the same hands for 40 years has come to market and is expected to realise about $40 million.

Catalyst Property Group and Savills are handling the sale of Hibiscus Shoppingtown at Leanyer, 14km north-east of the Darwin CBD.

The centre has a commercial floor area of 8036sq m and is anchored by a 4534sq m Woolworths supermarket and the recently refurbished freestanding Hibiscus Tavern.

Catalyst Property group director Peter Tyson told The Urban Developer the asset was a sizeable retail centre.

“By any measure, really, it’s a big supermarket,” he said.

“They used to build supermarkets a bit bigger than they do these days.”

He said Hibiscus Shoppingtown had 21 specialty tenancies and was almost fully leased.

The offering also includes three adjoining residential properties that the current owner acquired over time and has arranged to be rezoned for commercial use.

“Those blocks will provide expansion and value-add opportunities for the new owner,” Tyson said.

“Darwin’s northern suburbs continue to experience robust population, employment and infrastructure growth.

“The centre benefits from an extensive trade area of nearly 20,000 residents, with new masterplanned developments such as Lee Point boosting long-term demand.”

Tyson said the current owner bought Hibiscus Shoppingtown soon after the original developer completed the project 40 years ago.

He said the centre generated a net annual income of $2.775 million for its owner. Tyson said he expected strong interest from Northern Territory and interstate private investors, institutions and fund managers.

The shopping centre, the tavern and the three commercially zoned blocks occupy a 24,941sq m site at Vanderlin Drive, the main arterial route through Darwin’s northern suburbs.

The property is being offered for sale via an expressions-of-interest process due to close on Wednesday, March 11.