160 Sussex Street in the Sydney CBD hits the market

1 March 2023

An office building at 160 Sussex Street in the Sydney CBD is about to hit the market with price expectations of around $130 million.

The 15-storey B-Grade freehold office asset is being sold via Expressions of Interest campaign run by Knight Frank agents Dominic Ong, Graeme Russell and Linda Zhu of Knight Frank in conjunction with Shirley Fan, Michael Stokes, John Bowie Wilson of CI Australia.

The building located at 160 Sussex Street boasts a net lettable area (NLA) of 8,270sqm on an 854sqm site. Currently, it is occupied to the extent of 82 percent, with the Education Centre of Australia, Victoria University being the primary tenant, occupying nearly half of the building.

Completed in 1992, major refurbishments were completed in 2012 at an estimated cost of $5.3 million which included a new lobby and amenities on the ground level and service upgrade to all upper levels.

The asset has recently undergone circa. $1.8 million capital works program with brand new lifts and a new fitout of Level 6.

Mr Ong said the 160 Sussex Street offered a prime opportunity to secure a high-quality freehold B- grade asset in Sydney’s CBD.

“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,” he said.

“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.

“Investors will also be attracted to the value-add and development potential, with a double height basement level providing the potential to add an additional 500sqm of space suitable for a number of different uses, while the asset also has Stage 1 development approval for additional floors above the existing building height of up to 80 metres.

“This offers purchasers significant future redevelopment potential for an additional circa 800 square metres of gross floor area.”

Mr Stokes said 160 Sussex Street had strong future rental growth potential as the Sydney CBD leasing market continues to recover and strengthen post-pandemic.

‘This is one of the most thrilling areas in the Sydney CBD, as it is situated adjacent to the GPT redevelopment of Cockle Bay Wharf, which is being transformed into a 73,000sqm premium tower, and opposite Mirvac’s billion-dollar upgrade of Harbourside, further contributing to the excitement of the area,” he said.

“Sydney is currently undergoing major urban regeneration with record development and infrastructure spend.

“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.

“City of Sydney figures from January 2023 show more than 208,000 international students are enrolled in NSW. There are 55,000 more international students studying in NSW compared to the same time in 2022. This is an increase of almost a third in one year, this growth will further increase the demand for education space in the CBD.”

The Expressions of Interest campaign for the property closes at 4pm on Thursday, March 30.