This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
AWARE Super’s property investment platform and real estate partner Barings have acquired a newly completed Coles and build-to-rent (BTR) development in Canberra for $157.5 million.
Dickson Village, located in an affluent suburb four kilometres north of the Canberra CBD, reached practical completion in September and features a defensive neighbourhood retail centre anchored by Coles’ latest full-line supermarket and Liquorland as well as 140 BTR apartments across six storeys above the centre, with residential parking on level one.
Coles has a new 12-year lease to 2035, and there are with 10 food and services-based specialty shops. Dickson Village sold on a fully leased forecast yield for the neighbourhood retail centre and BTR apartments of 6.0%.
It is surrounded by a range of completed, under-construction and approved medium and high-density residential developments and is 400 metres from the Dickson light rail and bus interchange.
CBRE’s James Douglas, Nic Purdue and Tristan Cotchett sold the asset for prominent local developer Tony Pan of TP Dynamics.
“Our team at TP Dynamics has worked tirelessly to deliver on our goal of developing an exceptionally high-quality retail and BTR asset. We are very pleased with the outcome and look forward to seeing this asset prominently feature in Canberra’s institutional investment market,” Pan said.
Douglas Aware Real Estate’s acquisition of Dickson Village is a “highly strategic” investment, underpinned by what is forecast to be a high performing Coles supermarket on a long-term term lease and a BTR offering which is expected to be high demand as a result of the historic low residential vacancy rate in Canberra.
The ACT’s residential vacancy rate fell in September to just 1.62%, according to PropTrack.
Purdue said the project’s completion is well-timed to capitalise on strong rental growth in the Canberra residential sector, underpinned by the low level of vacancy and increased demand from the private and health sectors, as well as the student market.
This year has seen a lack of deals across the commercial property sector.
In a recent APJ Talking Property podcast, MSCI Pacific head of real estate research Benjamin Martin-Henry discussed transaction volumes hitting ther lowest level since 2011 in the first half, with sales of industrial, office and retail assets all slumping.
Michelle McNally, Aware Real Estate’s CEO, said, “This opportunity exemplifies Aware Real Estate’s focused investment strategy to target locations around existing and new infrastructure that we believe drive long-term demand and underpin capital growth”.
Aware Real Estate’s portfolio is about $2 billion.
Barings’ executive director, Shaun Hannah said, “Barings is pleased to continue its partnership with Aware Real Estate through the sourcing of a high-quality mixed use residential and retail asset that will benefit from significant gentrification and infrastructure investment including recently completed rail infrastructure”.
Global investment manager Barings acquired Altis Property Partners in August.
