Capital Gain
The Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, Australia’s oldest continuously operating lending library and one of the nation’s oldest educational institutions, is selling its building at 280 Pitt Street.
The School is chasing a price tag of around $40 million from any new custodian who snaps up the historic Sydney CBD tower.
Established in 1833, the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts has occupied the site at 280 Pitt Street for nearly two centuries. It moved into the current tower at No. 280, originally known as Lincoln House, after it was built in 1925.
The building, in the heart of the city, is more than just a commercial tower: it links Sydney’s civic, educational and architectural history, and has heritage significance. The 581-square-metre freehold also has future development potential.
The Mechanics’ School is selling to strengthen and future-proof its long-term “educational and cultural mission”.
Under the deal, it will lease back the premises and use the cash it raises for future projects.
Stanton Hillier Parker’s Andrew Hunter is advising on the sale.
Bank on it
A long-standing Westpac St George bank in Campsie has sold for $5.8 million to local Chinese investors. It was offloaded by the Chen family, who bought the site back in 2000.
The sale price of 212 Beamish Street reflected a 2.75 per cent net yield and a capital value of about $12,691 per sq m. The property sold before auction after getting more than 80 enquiries, said Colliers agents Andrew Bui and Harry Bui, who handled the transaction.
Westpac’s lease runs until June 2027.
The deal follows the recent sale of a NAB property for $6.7 million on a yield of 3.08 per cent and an ANZ bank changing hands for $5.8 million on a 2.98 per cent yield.
Syndicate swoops
The United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund has sold two hotels in Darling Harbour to a syndicate controlled by a billionaire Malaysian family and a private equity real estate firm run by former executives from Blackstone and Mirvac.
The Novotel and ibis Darling Harbour changed hands for a cool $390 million.
Between them, the two hotels have 781 guest rooms. They were sold by Pearl Hotels, a group wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, part of the Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund.
The syndicate of buyers includes Mulpha Australia and Hong Kong-listed Sun Hung Kai & Co, both controlled by the wealthy Malaysian-based Lee family. Local private equity firm Wentworth Capital, led by Alastair Nash and Brad Bowton, was also in on the deal.
The upscale Novotel Darling Harbour offers 525 guest rooms, while the mid-scale ibis Darling Harbour has 256 guest rooms.
The Novotel opened in 1991, when the Darling Harbour precinct was in its infancy. Its appearance marked the start of large-scale construction in the area that was previously a wasteland near the Pyrmont wharves. The ibis came on stream in 1997.
Nearby is Mirvac’s $2.3 billion mixed-use precinct redevelopment, which has transformed the former 1980s-built Harbourside Shopping Centre site on the western foreshore of Darling Harbour.
The transaction was negotiated by CBRE Hotels’ Michael Simpson, Andrew Williams and Nick Hill.
Commerz gets real
The NSW headquarters of the Australian Federal Police at 110 Goulburn Street is up for sale with a price tag around $250 million.
It has been put on the market by German owner Commerz Real, and comes with a new 10-year lease to the AFP, which has been the tenant in the 13,600 sq m tower for the past 28 years. The new lease includes two further three-year options and fixed annual rental increases of 3.75 per cent.
Commerz Real paid $150 million for the site in 2015 is are being advised by Gillian Kaplan, James Mitchell and Adam Woodward of Colliers on the sale.
Meanwhile, the tower at 333 Kent Street, known as Merchant House, is also on the market, with price expectations around $300 million. It’s being sold by Sydney-based Addenbrooke and its partners Super Ocean Group and Phoenix Property Investors.
In 2016, Michael Gu’s iProsperity Group snapped up the tower for $88.88 million and earmarked it for demolition, before the failed developer fled Australia in 2020 after his business collapsed into administration owing $350 million.
The 15-storey tower, with 14,000 sq m of lettable area, underwent a full redevelopment by the recently listed FDC that was completed in October 2024. The property’s current tenant list includes LVMH, Ralph Lauren and Tank Stream.
JLL agents Luke Billiau and Paul Noonan are handling the sale.
carolynannecummins@gmail.com
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