Launceston brutalist building sold for 8-figure price
Henty House, Launceston. Picture: Supplied
A LAUNCESTON city government office building has been sold for an eye-watering $22.525m.
The five-level building at No.1 Civic Square, Henty House, was sold by Sydney-based property investment company STRADA Group to a Melbourne-based syndicator.
Property records show it last sold for $11.05m in the mid-2000s.
CBRE’s Melbourne Capital Markets Office team Tom Ryan and Scott Orchard jointly negotiated the transaction alongside Tim Johnstone and Scott Alexander of Hobart-based agency Edwards Windsor.
Mr Ryan noted that despite current market uncertainties buyers were continuing to pursue quality investment opportunities.
“There is no question that buyers are reassessing their strategies and expectations following the significant change to the interest rate landscape,” he said.
“However, while the depth of interest has reduced, there is continued confidence in the market and solid transaction outcomes are occurring led by investors wanting to stay ahead of an anticipated buyer resurgence in the new year.”
Henty House, Launceston.
Henty House, Launceston.
Mr Orchard said sale results had been limited through the middle part of the year as a market adjustment plays out.
He said there was still considerable local, national and international capital looking for opportunities in “prime and alternative markets as demonstrated by the sale of Henty House”.
Henty House was purpose built for the Tasmanian Government in 1982 and is leased to the state and federal government, offering a weighted average lease expiry of more than six years.
From its 2517sq m site it provides a lettable area of 4678sq m and generates a net annual income of more than $1.5m.
Henty House, Launceston.
Henty House, Launceston.
Henty House was designed by noted Tasmanian architect Peter Partridge and is occupied by Health and Human Services, Justice, Treasury and Finance, Premier and Cabinet, Police, Fire and Emergency Management in addition to the Federal Government on a new 15-year term.
In a city dominated by Georgian and Victorian architecture, Henty House is a rare example of brutalist architecture.
There was blowback when the building received Heritage Listing in 2012, including its past owners appealing that move and ultimately winning.
Henty House, Launceston.
Meanwhile, only a couple of Launceston assets have sold in excess of $10m this year on the open market.
Shepherd & heap sold No.59-67 Bathurst St — leased to Petbarn and Nuts and Bolts — for $13.25m, while the Good Guys building in Goderich St was sold at auction by Burgess Rawson and Knight Frank for $11m.
