This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
CANADIAN group Quadra Pacific has completed the divestment of its Australian assets, selling one of Toowoomba’s biggest office buildings for $10.5 million to a local family.
Knight Frank’s Christian Sandstrom and Adam Willmore sold the nine-level building at 10 Russell Street, known as the Easternwell Centre. It has a net lettable area of 7,100 sqm and secure basement car park for 47 vehicles, in addition to 58 on-grade parking bays at the rear of the property.
The building is on a 5,047 sqm site in the Toowoomba CBD with future development potential, and frontage to Russell St and Neil St and the Bell Street Mall.
Anchor Easternwell provides drilling, well servicing and camp management services to the mining, minerals, oil and gas industries. Southern Cross Austereo recently signed a 10-year lease over the building’s radio station and TV studio.
The new owner of the building is Bernoth Properties, a prominent Toowoomba family with significant holdings in the region.
Quadra Pacific earlier this year sold its 29-level 288 Edward Street building for $115 million in February to US-based Heitman LLC and Marquette Properties, and 133 Mary Street to Singapore’s ARA Asset Management for $96.5 million.
Willmore said the Easternwell Centre offered a quality regional investment opportunity and attracted interest from local, Brisbane-based and interstate investors.
“Investors were also attracted to the property due to its strong tenant profile, with the property having a history of securing and retaining government and national tenants, as well as its development potential with adjoining land currently being used for car parking suitable for future development.”
The property is located within the CBD and backs onto the Bell Street Mall, which is earmarked for an upgrade in the near future and adjoins the refurbished Toowoomba Bus Station. It is also on the fringe of the Railway Parklands Priority Development Area.
Sandstrom said the activation the area is designed to facilitate development during a time of unprecedented opportunity and investment, and that the infrastructure pipeline occurring in the region would underpin the location of the asset and support the performance of the building.
“Regarded as the epicentre of Queensland’s significant agricultural, infrastructure and mining activities, Toowoomba will always remain the gateway to the Darling Downs region and Surat Basin mining precinct,” he said.
Sandstrom said regional hubs were increasingly attracting investors, who were looking for opportunities with higher yields outside the capital cities.
