This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
AROUND $130 million is expected for a Sydney CBD B-grade office building that has undergone more than $7 million worth of refurbishments and capital works since 2012, and offers development potential.
The 15-storey 160 Sussex Street asset has 8,270 sqm of net lettable area and is currently 82% leased with the Education Centre of Australia, Victoria University occupying nearly half the building.
Completed in 1992, the building underwent a $5.3 million refurbishment in 2023 that included a new lobby and amenities on the ground level and service upgrade to all upper levels, and recently received a $1.8 million capital works program with brand-new lifts and a new fit-out on level six.
A double-height basement level provides the potential to add an additional 500 sqm of space suitable for a number of different uses, while the asset also has stage one development approval for additional floors above the existing building height of up to 80 metres. That offers redevelopment potential for an additional circa 800 sqm of gross floor area.
Knight Frank agents Dominic Ong, Graeme Russell and Linda Zhu in conjunction with Shirley Fan, Michael Stokes, John Bowie Wilson of CI Australia have the listings.
Ong said the asset is positioned in the corporate epicentre of Sydney’s CBD, between Barangaroo and Darling Harbour in the Sydney CBD’s western corridor and close to all modes of public transport.
“We expect to field buyer interest from both domestic and overseas investors, with the Sydney CBD internationally recognised as one of Asia Pacific’s top investment destinations.”
Stokes said 160 Sussex Street had strong future rental growth potential as the Sydney CBD leasing market continues to recover and strengthen post-pandemic.
It is situated adjacent to GPT’s redevelopment of Cockle Bay Wharf, which is being transformed into a 73,000 sqm premium tower, and opposite Mirvac’s $2 billion-dollar upgrade of Harbourside.
“Sydney is currently undergoing major urban regeneration with record development and infrastructure spend,” Stokes said.
“Commanding a strategic address, 160 Sussex Street is set to directly benefit from this unprecedented level of public and private investment, creating an opportunity for repositioning of the asset in the near future.
The expressions of Interest campaign for the property closes Thursday, 30th March.
The listing arrives as Telstra lobs a Chippendale building on a 1,770 sqm site to the market with hopes for $60 million to $70 million.
The major telco is offering the 8,852 sqm building with a triple-net five-year leaseback. Beyond that, it could be used for an office development, residential use or build-to-rent.
