ESR Sells Sydney Office Bldg For A$400mil
AUSTRALIA – Hong Kong-listed industrial specialist ESR and Partners Group of Switzerland have completed the divestment of the 73 Miller Street office tower in North Sydney for A$400 million (A$13,236 psf), reported Mingtiandi on Tuesday evening (25 October, SGT).
Marketing agents Knight Frank and Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) revealed that the 13-storey commercial property was acquired by global investment bank UBS on behalf of a customer.
73 Miller Street was built in the 1990s and the sellers took control of the asset after buying out property investment manager Propertylink in 2018 in a transaction that valued Propertylink at A$723.4 million.
Subsequently, the office property was renovated. It now features 205,741 sq ft of net leasable area (NLA) with huge office floorplates spanning around 18,514 sq ft. It also boasts breath-taking views over Sydney Harbour.
“Following a A$60 million refurbishment and featuring an exceptional tenant profile, secure income stream and best-in-class ESG credentials, 73 Miller Street presents as new and is arguably the best Grade A office asset in North Sydney,” JLL’s Senior Director for international capital in Australia Kate Low said in a LinkedIn post on Monday.
JLL and Knight Frank said office properties with similar attributes as 73 Miller Street are rarely available in North Sydney, the northern extension of Sydney’s central business district (CBD). The commercial property is also a stone’s throw from the North Sydney Railway Station and a short walk minutes from the upcoming Victoria Cross Rapid Transit Station.
The office tower’s tenants include Sony, billboard provider OOH Media, and trading platform Axi, as well as engineering companies Aurecon and Taylor Thomson Whitting. Notably, the former owners consulted engineering firm TTW when it expanded the commercial property’s area from about 157,928 sq ft to 205,741 sq ft during renovation. Thereafter, TTW decided to occupy an entire office floor in the building.
73 Miller Street’s eco-friendly upgrades during renovation include LED lighting that can lasts for 40,000 hours to 50,000 hours, rooftop solar panels that can generate 79 kilowatt-hours per annum, and a rainwater harvesting system at all balconies that is used to irrigate the building’s green walls and flush toilets.
