Singaporean-based ARA Asset Management and Canadian institutional investor QuadReal Property Group have acquired an office development in Melbourne, as part of a new Australian joint venture.
200 Victoria Parade
The grade-A asset at 200 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne will welcome its first tenants in Q3 2022, the buyers said in a joint statement.
Financial details were not disclosed but the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the property was worth A$330m.
“Melbourne is a key focal point of our Global Cities strategy,” said Peter Kim, managing director of Asia for QuadReal.
“And our Victoria Parade investment represents a lot of what we like about this market—from the asset’s uniquely large floorplates to the best in class environmental sustainability initiatives that we have planned for the building.”
The 283,000 sq.ft. project is situated in Melbourne’s government precinct, with 27,000 sq.ft. floorplates designed for government and corporate tenants with large space requirements.
It is also aiming for a 5.5 Star NABERS rating and a 5 Green Star rating under the certification of the Green Building Council of Australia.
The new ARA-Quadreal JV will acquire and manage office and logistics assets in Sydney and Melbourne.
Melbourne is expected to overtake Sydney as Australia’s largest city by 2026, making it an attractive location, according to the buyers.
“The Victoria Parade project represents an exciting opportunity to secure a strategic foothold in a prestigious location, and we look forward to undertaking many more projects together,” said David Blight, CEO of ARA Australia.
Headquartered in Singapore, ARA is a real assets fund manager with S$87bn in gross assets under management.
Headquartered in Vancouver, QuadReal is the real estate arm of British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) and manages a $37.6bn portfolio.
BCI is one of Canada’s largest asset managers with $153.4bn in AUM.