This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
MAXCAP Group is backing the redevelopment of Brewery Yard within Sydney’s Central Park precinct, which will be anchored by buy now-pay later giant Afterpay.
The $80 million first mortgage construction facility to assist IP Generation comes at a busy time for MaxCap, which has been active around the country. It has just entered a joint venture for a boutique residential development in Melbourne, and has partnered with prolific developer Tim Gurner on a 22-storey luxury resident tower on the Gold Coast, and backed construction of the Vibe Hotel Adelaide.
The Brewery Yard redevelopment that will see the heritage-listed external structure remain in place with the interior to be completely redeveloped into 5,000 sqm of office space.
Afterpay, newly acquired by Jack Dorsey’s tech giant Block, formerly Square, will take up two-thirds of the building.
Brewery Yard is the final piece of Frasers Property Australia and Sekisui House Australia’s 5.8-hectare Central Park precinct that opened in 2013 on the former Carlton & United Breweries site. It now includes offices, a shopping centre, hotel and residential accommodation across multiple buildings.
The redevelopment will target a 5 star Green Star Rating and a 5 star NABERS energy rating.
More broadly, Brewery Yard is within Sydney’s Tech Central precinct that is emerging around Central Station and which the NSW government hopes will become the country’s largest technology precinct. It has attracted Atlassian’s $1.5 billion, 40 storey future headquarters and also includes Frasers Property Australia and Dexus’s $2.5 billion Central Place Sydney development. The NSW government anticipates it will attract 25,000 workers.
Central Station itself will offer direct access to the new Sydney Metro from 2025.
Also in the area will be a mix of new and historical commercial and strip retail buildings such as “Spice Alley”, as well as high rise residential complexes with active street frontages. In the immediate vicinity are The University of Technology Sydney, TAFE NSW Ultimo Campus, Sydney University and the University of Notre Dame.
“The Brewery Yard project is a great example of urban redevelopment which aligns perfectly with our ESG focus and our desire to fund assets repositioned to deliver a more sustainable built form,” said David Oudshoorn, MaxCap’s state director, NSW.
“Afterpay’s selection of this asset to house its Sydney headquarters is a strong endorsement of IP Generation’s conviction in the asset’s unique and compelling design features, as well as its highly desirable central position within Sydney’s rapidly growing tech and innovation precinct.”
