Blackstone has offloaded part of its Warrawong Plaza holdings in Port Kembla for $35 million.
The 3.6ha site sits opposite Blackstone’s Warrwong Plaza and previously contained a Bunnings Warehouse (now vacant) as well as McDonalds, Liquorland and JB HiFi.
Bunnings recently moved to Port Kembla, opening up an opportunity for the redevelopment of the site.
The Centre was sold to Queensland-based private developer Griffith Capital.
The divestment of part of the site is an admission by Blackstone that Centres with expansion potential are no longer worth what they ere previously. Regional and Sub regional malls are in a challenging environment and the concept of making them larger no holds sway with investors.
Blackstone have instead invested in upgrade works at the existing Warrawong Plaza which include a new casual dinning precinct, and an updated fresh food precinct. The mall is anchored by a Big W, K Mart, Coles and Aldi and there still remains some concerns about the longevity of the Discount Department Stores as both groups have announced large scale store closures.
The Blackstone retail portfolio has been on the market for several years. The Ggoup sold Brimbank Shopping Centre to Mulpha for $150m in July 2019, Figtree Grove to SPH REIT for $206m and Waverley Gardens to Elanor for $178m in in 2018.
Top Ryde Shopping Centre and Warrawong Plaza are still available for sale.
The potential departures of discount department stores in these Centre is holding back buyers for the mall who will be faced with significant re-capitalisation requirements.
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