City of Sydney buys iconic Alexandria woolstores for $110m
The Woolstores site is 15 minutes drive from the Sydney CBD.
The City of Sydney Council has swooped in on an off-market sale; purchasing one of Sydney’s most valuable commercial office assets near the CBD.
The Council purchased The Woolstores in Alexandria off-the-market for $110m from CorVal; in a transaction that involved Steven Kearney and Mark Hansen of Cusman & Wakefield, and Michael Crombie and Adam Woodward of Colliers International.
Located 15 minutes from the CBD, The Woolstores consists of three heritage-listed wool sheds that were restored and reinvented into office spaces.
The Woolstores sold off the market for $110m.
Tenants of the current commercial site include Living Edge, Swarovski, and Thyssenkrupp Elevators.
According to Mr Crombie, The Woolstores is serviced by public transport connections, in addition to key arterial roads and the WestConnex interchange at St Peters.
“The Alexandria Woolstores site represents the epitome of creatively designed office space – a true adaptive reuse conversion,” Mr Crombie said.
“The estate has always been successfully leased and the City of Sydney were quick to seize this opportunity off market.”
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The Woolstores are transformed woolsheds that have been turned into commercial spaces.
The City of Sydney was enticed to purchase The Woolstores as a high-quality commercial office investment with 5.5 star energy rating that aligned with the City’s long term financial plan.
CorVal’s Head of Transactions Oliver Piccone said he wasn’t surprised to see City of Sydney jumping at the opportunity to seize the asset off market.
An interior view of The Woolstores.
“This is a great result for our investors, we acquired the property from the original developer as it neared completion, basing our strategy on the unique nature of the heritage office space and Alexandria being an up-and-coming market with the potential for growth,” Mr Piccone said.
“Our asset management team led by Philippa Duncanson and Natasha Oryl was then able to execute on this, by maintaining close to full occupancy over the whole investment period and driving the rents. They did a fantastic job in actively adding value to investment.”
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