Cromwell pays record $186 million for Fortitude Valley office tower

Property fund manager Cromwell has paid $186 million to acquire Leighton Properties’ HQ North Tower in Brisbane’s booming Fortitude Valley.

The sale price set a new record for the largest office transaction for a Brisbane city fringe development in Queensland history.

The sale was negotiated by Bruce Baker, Richard Butler and Bill Tucker from CBRE.

HQ North Tower contains 28,000 square metres of office space as well as ground-floor retail and forms part of the HQ precinct, a new commercial zone comprising 44,000 square metres of commercial office and retail space, restaurants, cafés, wine bars and a public plaza.

Tenants include AECOM and Bechtel.

The south tower was old last year to Swiss-based fund manager AFIAA for $94 million.

HQ was built at a cost of $177 million and designed by architects Bligh Voiler Nield.

Leighton Properties managing director Mark Gray says the capital from the sale will be redeployed in further opportunities both in the residential and commercial sectors.

“This sale reflects the underlying strength of the Valley office market and the quality of the tower’s award-winning, sustainable design.

“The sale further reinforces Fortitude Valley as the premier location for investment in Brisbane outside of the CBD,” says Baker. “It also demonstrates the value of high-quality assets with first-rate sustainability measures.”

In addition to the 6 Star Green Star – Office Design and Office As Built v2 ratings, the development has also recently received several national awards including Urban Taskforce of  Australia’s National Development of the Year 2011; Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Sustainability in Business Award 2011; and UDIA QLD Boral Awards for Excellence in Large Retail/Commercial.

The South Tower is the headquarters for Leighton Properties and Leighton Contractors.

Cromwell also purchased Leighton Properties’ proposed new office tower in the Ipswich CBD earlier this month for $93 million.