Brisbane receiver sale opens for multimillion-dollar church property
A huge opportunity has opened for investors with the receiver sale of a multimillion-dollar Brisbane property owned by the Presbyterian church after fundraising efforts to save it fell short.
The Presbyterian Church of Queensland receivers Michael Owen and Phil Carter of PwC have put 369 Boundary Street, Spring Hill, up for sale in their bid to realign the finances of the church.
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Ray White Commercial Qld partner Tom Barr has the property listed for expressions of interest saying it was “an opportunity for owner occupiers, investors, and developers”.
“We’ve only just launched it,” Mr Barr said midweek. “We expect very strong interest from owner occupiers, value-add investors and developers.”
“The early signs are a lot of enquiry already (Wednesday). It’s early days, but it’s a great location. There’s a great opportunity there for the right party.”
Up for grabs is a 1,837sq m commercial building on a 1,456sq m of prime land located just 800m from the Brisbane GPO.
The potential for future development is huge given the future Olympic city is already at its tightest vacancy rates ever for residential real estate, with commercial property demand also high.
The site is one of the key properties of the church housing its denominational offices as well as being the home of the Queensland Theological College – with the congregation raising over $2.9m in an attempt to save it but falling way short of the target value.
The Presbyterian Church of Qld – which had bought the Spring Hill property for $7.81m off the Australian Institute of Management in September 2016 – was put into receivership in May last year. Several PCQ properties have already been sold, including its raft of aged care locations across the state.
PCQ moderator-elect Reverend Andrew Purcell told members in their latest August update that “the most pressing issues facing our denomination is the future of the Queensland Theological College”, which was based at the Spring Hill site.
A fundraising move to help QTC buy the building via separate legal entity saw QTC Foundation receive over $2.9m in donations in August this year, but Rev Purcell acknowledged that was “significantly less than halfway towards making a competitive offer for the building”.
“The receivers need to be paid for their work, and the Spring Hill building that is home to QTC and the denominational offices is the asset that they have earmarked to raise the required funds,” he said in the update.
“It is expected that the building will be sold by the end of 2022.”
PCQ’s Assembly in August pledged to continue to financially support QTC “as funding becomes available through the receivership process”.
Expressions of interest close Wednesday October 19 at 4pm.
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