This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
INVESTA’S built-to-rent platform Indi has secured the first green loan in the country’s fledgling sector, with the $130 million loan going towards construction over the Pitt Street over-station development in Sydney’s CBD.
The loan was agreed between Oxford Properties Group, Investa’s partner and owner of the development, and the Commonwealth Bank.
Indi will deliver and manage the project, which will have a 5 Star Green Star building that will be carbon neutral in operations and the first to achieve a NABERS energy rating for built-to-rent
It will be the CBD’s first build-to-rent project and have 234 one, two and three-bedroom apartments and extensive shared residents amenities and services.
Indi was launched in the middle of this year, eyeing off a portfolio of 5,000 apartments in Sydney and Melbourne. Among those is a $450 million build-to-rent project in Melbourne’s Footscray.
To qualify for the green loan, Oxford and Indi’s owner Investa, collaborated on a green financing framework that articulates the use and management of proceeds, with borrowings transparently earmarked for eligible green assets. It was developed in line with green loan principles, accepted as one of the main guidelines for the issuance of green loans globally.
Indi Sydney City will be the first project to utilise a Green Loan under this new Green Financing Framework.
Sustainability initiatives incorporated in the building’s design include lifts that capture heat generated by elevators during use and convert it into reusable energy for the building, high-efficiency central cooling system and tempered air-conditioning, energy and water efficient appliances in all apartments, and sub-metering for improved tracking of operational performance.
Nellie O’Keeffe, director development, Oxford Properties Group said the objective in executing Green Loans through the Green Financing Framework is to finance properties that will deliver positive environmental outcomes.
“The securing of this Green Loan will help us deliver one of the most sustainable places to live in Sydney,” she said.
“As our nation grows and evolves, the way Australians live, work and play is changing and people will be seeking new, more flexible modes of living that can put them closer to their jobs,” said Andrew Hinchliff, group executive of institutional banking & markets at Commonwealth Bank said.
“Build-to-rent properties will play a key part in Australia’s future, and we’re very proud to have been able to help Oxford break new ground with this sustainable development,”
Melita Cottrell of Herbert Smith Freehills was appointed to manage Indi’s legal requirements, while Ken Astridge of King Wood Mallesons acted for CBA.
Commonwealth Bank was recently announced as the sole financier and green coordinator on Charter Hall’s $410 million 480 Swan Street development, in Australia’s first green development loan.
