Verde portfolio touted as blue-chip opportunity

Two landmark office buildings in Townsville and Mackay that are underpinned by long-term leases to the Queensland Government are being offered to the market.

Verde Property – a joint venture involving the families of Flight Centre co-founder Jim Goldburg and developer Stephen Gosling, of Sterling Securities – has appointed CBRE to market its for sale individually or in one line.

On the market are Verde Townsville, located at 445 Flinders St, Townsville, and Verde Mackay, located at 44 Nelson St, Mackay, which hold five and 5.5-star Green Star Ratings respectively.

Both buildings, which were developed by Verde Property, serve as regional headquarters for the Queensland Government, with the portfolio providing a combined weighted average lease expiry of close to 12 years.

Both buildings were designed in response to specific requirements by the Queensland Government to serve as their commercial headquarters in North Queensland’s key regional hubs

The government lease agreements on both buildings also provide for fixed annual rental increases of 4%.

CBRE senior managing director of Queensland, Bruce Baker, says: “At a time when the availability of institutional grade investment product is increasingly scarce, we’re expecting the campaign will generate considerable interest, particularly in light of the long WALE and the blue chip income stream.”

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“Both buildings were designed in response to specific requirements by the Queensland Government to serve as their commercial headquarters in North Queensland’s key regional hubs.”

The 11-storey building in Townsville is home to a number of key government departments

The 11-storey Verde Townsville has a lettable area of 11,615sqm, comprising a ground level foyer and retail space, three levels of car parking for 195 vehicles and eight levels of office accommodation.

Design elements include efficient 1300sqm column free floor plates, while the building accommodates several major government departments, including the North QLD Disaster Recovery Centre.

The property was built to Level 4 cyclone specifications, capable of providing 100% standby power, water and sewerage facilities and with the capacity to continue to operate for up to five days in the event of an emergency.

The diverse range of departments operating in both of these assets include some of the most important government sectors in the region

Verde Mackay offers 7058sqm of lettable area over six levels and is 100% leased to the State Government until 2025.

The building comprises ground floor entry and retail accommodation and five levels of upper office accommodation.

There is also a detached podium car park structure, which provides three levels of car parking.

CBRE director of capital markets, Flint Davidson, says: “The diverse range of departments operating in both of these assets include some of the most important government sectors in the region, such as Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Department of Transport and Main Roads and the North QLD Disaster Recovery Centre.”