Wongara Pty Ltd invests in Pinkenba freehold site

Property players have secured parcels near the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal site as anticipation for development builds in Pinkenba. These are the hottest Brisbane commercial property deals this week.

Wongara Pty Ltd buys property on Marine Rd at Pinkenba with renewed interest in the area around the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal. File picture: Richard Walker

Two local property players have secured a freehold development site near the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal in anticipation of a wave of development in the area.

Andrew King and Bernie McKeering’s Wongara Pty Ltd paid $11m for 63 and 83 Marine Rd, Pinkenba, that consolidates into a 3.9ha of freehold development site, which adjoins the Brisbane Airport in the Northern TradeCoast precinct.

Mr McKeering’s Helmsman Invest will manage the development of the flood-free site which has current development approval for warehouse.

However, Helmsman Investment development manager Peter Anderson said at this stage the site will be a hardstand storage.

“We are going to start civil works in the middle of the year which includes raising part of the site and doing hardstand as well as building the road from Bancroft St which will be a cul-de-sac at the airport end of Marine Rd,” he said.

Mr McKeering started Helmsman Invest in 2018 after selling Trident Corporation which he had co-founded.

Mr McKeering said the Pinkenba area was “really coming alive” with the new cruise ship terminal and other development projects.

“We have had strong interest from tenants. At this time we are focused on securing a long-term lease from one user for the whole of the land,” he said.

A 30-year veteran of the corporate real estate market Mr King held top executive jobs with PRD nation wide and DTZ Brisbane before creating Asher Capital.

He has also been behind a number of office towers including the 17-storey 31 Duncan St in Fortitude Valley and he co-founded Vita which has a national pipeline of more the 4500 build-to-rent apartments.

Investor nails Total Tools deal

A recently constructed purpose-built freestanding showroom in Brisbane’s southern suburbs has been snapped up with investors increasingly prepared to pay more to nail quality assets.

A South East Queensland high net worth investor paid $10.54m plus GST for the Blume Property Group developed asset at 61 Kingston Rd, Woodridge, that is occupied by hardware giant Total Tools.

Blume director Nick Volk said they acquired the 4059sqm site in July 2022 and were attracted to its development potential with multiple commercial tenants being interested in the location.

“We subsequently struck a deal with Total Tools and delivered a freestanding showroom to suit their expanding network,” he said.

“The property ticks all the boxes for a high quality commercial investment.”

On a high exposure site, the 1880sqm showroom was completed in November 2023 and Total Tools has a 10-year lease with two five-year options. The sale realised a yield of 5.35 per cent.

Dugan Property’s Alastair Wilson and Isaac Sarra at the Total Tools warehouse in Woodridge they sold for $10.54m.

Dugan & Co Property’s Isaac Sarra, who sold the property with colleague Alastair Wilson, said they had been working with the buyer for some time.

“We stumbled onto this one and got it over the line with the buyer attracted to the strong covenant, long-term growth and good location,” he said.

“It’s a real flight to quality at the moment and although yields may have softened a bit there is still strong demand for good quality buildings in great locations. If you drive pass it and it’s very hard to miss on Kingston Rd.”

Mr Wilson said it was a great deal for both parties with the buyer gaining a new asset which they are seeking to hold long term and in the process get all the benefits of a new building including tax depreciation.

He said similar properties were in strong demand.

“Properties like these with a national tenant rarely come to market,” Mr Wilson said.

“It was on the market last year but there was a bit of volatility with interest but with things starting to stabilise it has given a lot of confidence to investors.”

Out of the shadows

A converted Queenslander in the shadow of two apartment towers has a new owner with plans to occupy and later redevelop the site.

According to CoreLogic, Focus Developments paid $1.96m for the office building at 10 Hazelmount St, Bowen Hills, after a campaign by Raine & Horne Commercial’s Hudson Dale and Keelan Mylius of behalf of the owner who has held the property for almost 34 years.

The property had been occupied by Associated Cleaning Services for decades which was linked to the vendor.

Mr Dale said the cleaning company was sold and the new owner has relocated to Newstead which motivated the vendor to sell the property.

“It was a small campaign and we ended up with over 30 inquiries, eight of which were solid with everyone else just stickybeaking,” he said.

“There were some owner-occupiers but the two underbidders were like the eventual owner who will be using it as their office and consider redevelopment plans down the track..”

On a 608sqm block the property features as 125sqm fully renovated character office plus storage as well as parking for 10 vehicles.

Raine & Horne Commercial’s Hudson Dale and Keelan Mylius at 10 Hazelmount, Bowen Hills.

The property has the David Devine developed 30-floor Madison Heights Apartments tower covering two sides of the site and the 27-storey Panorama Apartments on the other side.

Property records reveal it last changed hands in 1990 for $240,000 and according to a story in The Courier-Mail in 2012 during planning stages for Madison Heights Mr Devine is believed to have offered more than $3m for the site but was knocked back. Instead they elected to build around the property.

Mr Mylius said the buyer was attracted to Bowen Hills’ central location, the carparking and long-term potential of the area.

“Not a real lot comes up for sale in Bowen Hills and when it does it generally gets a good price,” he said.

“The buyer is looking to redevelop the property in the future but was attracted by the character aesthetic of the building which is a bit more welcoming than a traditional office.”