Cbus Property buys remaining 50 per cent stake in $660m 205 North Quay tower in Brisbane CBD

One of Australia’s largest property super funds has acquired the remaining 50 per cent stake of a “city-shaping” $660m Brisbane CBD office tower currently under construction.

Cbus Property has bought the half stake of 205 North Quay from development joint venture partner, MJ Nielson, a company associated with Nielson Properties and Brisbane’s Raniga family.

The 30-level A-grade commercial tower, with premium-grade services, has been fully pre-committed with a 10-year lease with the Federal Government agency Services Australia which will relocate about 4000 staff once it’s completed in late 2024.

Cbus is not commenting on what they paid but it was believed to have sold for around $330m.

Cbus Property’s chief executive Adrian Pozzo said the development would optimise the site’s potential and be a catalyst for activating Brisbane CBD’s North Quarter, bounding the city’s government precinct with Cbus Property’s 1 William Street commercial tower.

“Upon completion, 205 North Quay will be an incredibly unique and healthy workplace that will evolve with its users into the future and create a new front door to the city, setting an example for others to follow in this exciting burgeoning precinct,” he said.

“It will be a city-shaping project delivering the workplace of the future and providing a clear benchmark for both economic and environmental sustainability.”

JLL’s Paul Noonan and Seb Turnbull struck the deal.

The sale is a boost for the market grappling with inflation and interest rate rises with a series of smaller Brisbane office transactions have not gone ahead with their owners unable to garner sufficient prices for the assets as interest rates jumped.

Finance and real estate house Qualitas pulling out of the Energex House for about $360m and sale processes for other office blocks have either been suspended or extended until conditions stabilise.

Designed by Hassell, New York-based REX, and Brisbane’s Richards & Spence, 205 North Quay is under construction by Hutchinson Builders on the northern river’s edge of Brisbane’s CBD.

MJ Nielson’s director Ross Nielson said partnering with Cbus Property on 205 North Quay to date had been an “absolute pleasure”.

“We are very happy and very excited for Cbus Property to take over the balance of our project and to take it forward,” he said.

“This will be a tremendous benchmark project, not only for Brisbane, but also for Australia, and we wish Cbus Property all the very best.”

An artist’s impression inside the 205 North Quay project in Brisbane. Picture: Supplies by Cbus Property

The tower will comprise 43,700sq m of office space, a wellness floor and an 18m open-air public plaza at ground level with retail offerings, signature dining experiences and an auditorium.

Aligning with the ‘Buildings That Breathe’ strategy in Brisbane City Council’s New World City design guide, every level of the office tower will be afforded with open-air terraces, providing extensive access to natural light, protective sun shading and increased fresh air.

“Our focus is on ensuring exceptionally healthy and productive environments to underpin the wellbeing of our tenants and their employees, which will be achieved through creating next generation work and collaboration spaces to a standard never seen before in Australia,” Mr Pozzo said.

“The grand public plaza will act as a ‘city room’ for people to meet and have access to natural light and fresh air, surrounded by subtropical planting.

“It will provide new cross links for permeability, incorporate public art and activate the surrounding neighbourhood with retail and dining offerings and a versatile, programmable auditorium.”

-With reporting from Chris Herde

This story was first published on www.theaustralian.com.au.