This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
SYDNEY’S $400 million Merchant House redevelopment has entered the market, with construction already in the works on the CBD boutique commercial asset.
Merchant House 333 Kent Street is being developed by the Sydney-based Addenbrooke in partnership Super Ocean Group and Phoenix Property Investors and will see 14,173sqm of A-Grade office space, across 16 floors, delivered to the CBD by Q3 2024.
Luke Billiau, Paul Noonan and Simon Storry from JLL along with Paul Roberts, Jonathan Vaughan and Neil Brookes from Knight Frank have been exclusively appointed to sell the property via an international expressions of interest campaign.
“This sale campaign coincides with a surge in demand for high quality assets in the Sydney CBD and a lack of foreseeable deal pipeline for the balance of the year,” said Billiau.
Glory Star announced it would partner up with Addenbrooke to develop the commercial tower last November, after IProsperity, who intially partnered with Glory Star when the site was first purchased in went into administration in July 2020 it was set to be developed by Glory Star in a fund managed by IProsperity.
Merchant House will feature a wellness centre, breakout spaces, treatment rooms and end-of-trip-facilities, with the floor to ceiling glass panels allowing views of the Darling Harbour and CBD from the upper floors.
Designed by WMK and Woods Bagot, the project will see the site’s heritage façade incorporated, along with the entirety of the existing structure adaptively reused.
“The building has been designed to meet the future tenant demands of the post-pandemic workplace. Importantly, by utilising the existing building structure in the rebuild, there will be an estimated 60% reduction in embodied carbon during construction and a 50% carbon reduction in building operation when complete,” added Billiau.
The project is centred around environmentally sustainable design principals and is targeting a 5 star NABERS energy rating and a 5 star Green Star As-Built rating, with solar panel systems, EV charging points, hydraulic efficiency, smart systems and touchless technology being introduced.
“The ability to acquire a market leading office asset in this type of structure will be advantageous to all groups in boosting overall investment returns. The ESG credentials, and flexible floor plate design will have high appeal to investors and occupiers alike – this property is like nothing delivered before in the Western Corridor,” said Roberts.
The property’s placement in the Western Corridor of the Sydney CBD makes it a beneficiary of the diverse tenant mix surrounding it, with demand for the precinct strong amongst small to medium occupiers.
“Knight Frank sees a real undersupply of prime stock in the Western Corridor precinct with only 6% of the future supply being delivered in this segment of the market. 333 Kent Street will go partway to satisfying the demand in this market and will be keenly sought,” added Roberts.
The expressions of interest campaign is scheduled to close on 21 July, 2022.
