Frasers goes to market with $300m Brunswick & Co

Singapore-backed Frasers Property Australia has put its $300m build-to-rent development in Brisbane, Brunswick & Co, on the block. Picture: Sophie Foster

Singapore-backed Frasers Property Australia has put its $300m build-to-rent development in Brisbane, Brunswick & Co, on the block, in the next major test of investment appetite in the sector.

Build-to-rent apartments have emerged as one of the hottest areas in property with major investors chasing an exposure as they diversify away from traditional commercial properties.

The Brunswick & Co. complex, being delivered by Frasers Property in partnership with the Queensland government as part of its build-to-rent Pilot Project, will have 366 apartments. Of these, 144 will be made available at a discounted rent through a subsidy from the state government, when the building is completed in early 2026.

The sale of the Fortitude Valley development, now under construction by Hutchinson Builders, will be settled with the government partnership in place, allowing the new owner to participate in the BTR Pilot Project.

The Brunswick & Co project is part of the new wave of buildings which are bringing institutional investors into backing specialist unit blocks directed at renters. Big name investors and operators are expected to team up to chase the building, with more blocks expected to hit the market later this year.

Artist’s impression of the 25-storey Brunswick & Co build-to-rent development in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.

The 25-storey building will have a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments and more than 1900sq m of resident-only amenities including a rooftop pool and dog park, co-working space, fitness centre and treatment room, a cinema room, and dining and entertaining spaces.

“We’re proud of our work in blending our residential, retail and hospitality expertise to create this new benchmark in the emerging build-to-rent sector in Australia. We have a long history working in collaborative partnerships with governments at all levels, and this project has strengthened our relationship with the Queensland government,” Frasers Property Australia chief executive Cameron Leggatt said.

“Consistent with our capital recycling efforts, we are looking to reinvest in new projects where we can leverage our mixed-use expertise in the core eastern seaboard markets. By focusing on scale in development, we will seek further opportunities to partner with governments to deliver new and diverse housing choices,“ he said.

There is an emerging trade in completed build-to-rent towers and CBRE is handling the latest offer. The firm expects that by 2029, institutional build-to-rent will comprise 22 per cent of new apartment supply, equating to about 11,000 apartments per annum.

Big players are already moving in. US investment giant Hines last year teamed up with Canadian pension fund Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan to buy two build-to-rent apartment blocks in Brisbane in a deal worth about $350m.

They were sold by the private ADCO Group and the move was one of the first trades involving a completed tower of the specialist apartments. The deal delivered the buyers two build-to-rent assets, which will comprise a total of 354 units.

In 2021, US private equity ­company Blackstone bought a well-known “ghost tower” from Chinese-backed firm R&F Property Group. It converted The Lotus Tower at Kangaroo Point into a build-to-rent asset that now runs under its Realm brand.

Blackstone has said it wants to build more rental housing in Australia but the costs are high. It also owns another build-to-rent complex in Melbourne, also under its Realm brand.

The group shelved plans to sell the buildings in 2023, partly as big investors paused ahead of regulatory hurdles being cleared up by the federal government.