Qube, Australia's largest integrated provider of import and export logistics services, has sold a 13.6ha site in Brooklyn Vic for $65.0m.
The site at 387 Francis Street was marketed by Colliers in November last year and was acquired by local developers Time & Place who intend to pursue a small lot subdivision of the site.
Time & Place who known for the residential developments in Sydney and Melbourne with major partner Golden Age, have been aggressively expanding into industrial developments, securing a number of sites last year including a 10-hectare site in Epping and a 16.7-hectare site in Truganina.
The group also establish a closed-ended fund with commercial real estate investment manager MaxCap to develop and sell logistics lots across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The fund is a four-year closed-ended vehicle targeting a net return to investors of greater than 15 per cent. The Fund had secured equity commitments of about $70 million cap.
The Qube property was acquired by Time and Place with vacant possession enabling an immediate start to development works, however several 9 month term leases were entered into prior to settlement, which occurred in March 2020.
Development of Brooklyn has strong support from local Council. The Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) is working in partnership with Hobsons Bay Council, Maribyrnong City Council and local and state agencies to prepare a Comprehensive Development Plan (CBP) for Brooklyn Business Park which covers a large area used by more than 60 industries, including quarrying, former landfill, abattoirs, material recycling, tallow producers, container storage, as well as numerous small businesses from light industrial to retail and manufacturing. The plan intends to facilitate the transformation of Brooklyn over the next 20 years into a key employment node for Melbourne’s west, a destination of choice for new, ‘clean and green’ investment and development.
The Francis street site has fewer environmental issues to contend with the other parts of Brooklyn. A number of neighbouring lots with older style warehouse facilities have been converted to smaller industrial parks, such as Sector Property Group's recently completed Workspace Brooklyn in Export Drive; a 24 unit small warehouses offering up to 200sqm for circa $3,000psm.
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