This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
CENTENNIAL and MaxCap Group’s $100 million speculative Brisbane industrial development gamble has already started to pay off, with global logistics giant FedEx among the early signees.
Built by McNab, the Willawong industrial park, in Brisbane’s inner south, comprises 32,542 sqm of gross lettable area across three new 5 Star environmentally sustainable-designed (ESD) warehouses that feature nine tenancies with internal ceiling height clearance up to 13.7 metres, six-metre-wide roller doors and all-weather docks and hardstand areas.
Two of those tenancies were leased during construction. FedEx committed to a long-term deal over a 2,690 sqm tenancy in a deal brokered by Harry Homan at JLL, while Australasian hotel and resort hospitality supplier, Vendella signed a five-year lease for a 1,441 sqm warehouse and office tenancy that was brokered by FAL Group’s John Andrew.
Michael Richardson and Michael Callow of CG Property and Jack Hardy and Peter Turnbull of CBRE are the appointed leasing agents.
Centennial said the park represents an additional strategy from the national fund manager and developer’s traditional business model of regenerating underutilised or vacant mid-space warehouses in last-mile or urban industrial infill regions and transforming them into institutional-grade assets.
The fund manager and developer has acquired and developed a portfolio of 63 industrial assets worth more than $1.3 billion in six years.
Head of property funds, David Cupit said, The Link Industrial Park presented an “excellent opportunity to partner with MaxCap to develop an institutional grade, mid-space logistics estate in a highly land constrained infill region”.
“Bordering Acacia Ridge, which is widely regarded as the inner-south’s industrial heartland there has been no let-up in demand for last mile industrial sites.
“That demand is now pushing into neighbouring areas such as Willawong which is establishing itself as an industrial hub in its own right.”
Larger industrial players that have set entered the area and its surrounds include Charter Hall, ESR, Fife Capital, Frasers and Stockland.
Cupit said the The Link’s connectivity to major road, rail, port infrastructure networks will be “key drivers” in filling the remaining tenancies.
Brisbane’s industrial and logistics market recorded the highest vacancy rate in the country in the first half, according to CBRE, but remains low at 2.7%.
Centennial has recently started construction on another speculative build on the other side of town, in the northern industrial hub of Geebung.
The 16,300 sqm Geebung Industrial Park is being developed in partnership with KKR.
Stage one of the project is expected to be completed during the current quarter and will also deliver a range of 5-star ESD initiatives and A-grade tenancies ranging from 2,500 sqm to 13,600 sqm in size. Stage two is due to shortly, delivering a further 9,010 sqm of space.
