Charter Hall accepts discount for Canberra office
Charter Hall has sold a Canberra office acquired after the national lockdown.
The federal government backed Doris Blackburn Building at 18 Canberra Avenue, Forrest, is fetching $72 million.
For the Charter Hall Prime Office Fund, it paid Doma Group $98.5m in August, 2021.
The same trust in February shed a Brisbane CBD office – 40 Tank St – for $73m, a drop on the $93m outlaid to Kevin Seymour in 2018.
Doris Blackburn Building
Sentinel Property Group is buying the Doris Blackburn Building for a single asset fund – the Sentinel Canberra Parliamentary Precinct Trust; it is subscribed, with $40m raised.
Fully occupied by the Department of Human Services on an initial lease expiring in 2030, with a 5.5-star NABERS rating, the office contains 9568 square metres – rated A-grade – over four floors.
There are also 250 car parks (story continues below).
“There continues to be strong investor demand for high quality office assets,” Sentinel chief executive officer, Warren Ebert, said.
“Canberra is Australia’s fourth largest office market and boasts the lowest vacancy rates across all capital cities of 8.3pc,” he added.
“Over the next five years, 90pc of new office space currently in development is already pre-committed,” according to the executive.
“With 2.9pc unemployment and a high 70.64pc workforce participation rate, Canberra continues to outperform the national average”.
The deal comes three and a half years since Sentinel paid Centuria $83m for the 14 storey Scarborough House in the Woden Town Centre.
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