John Holland close to buying its first development site in Macquarie Park
Australian engineering and construction company John Holland is on the brink of its first development site acquisition, NSW Property’s 3.2-hectare freehold mixed-use development site in Macquarie Park in Sydney’s north-west.
It is understood the firm bid about $90 million for the site at 45-61 Waterloo Road, which would be sold as a sale and leaseback to the NSW government. The government has pre-committed to lease 25,000sq m in offices, with a 12-year initial term with options.
Altogether the B3 commercial-zoned site will yield about 117,000sqm of gross floor area.
The process to select a buyer has been going on for several months, after expressions of interest closed late last year and tenders closed in March. Goodman Group, Stockland and Chinese residential developer HPG Australia put in bids but were knocked out.
Altogether the B3 commercial-zoned site will yield about 117,000 square metres of gross floor area.
While Goodman left the race earlier, it is understood HPG, which is developing its first residential project in Erskineville in inner south Sydney, and Stockland had formed a joint-venture bid on the project and were close to taking the lead.
However, they lost out in a last-minute twist.
A Property NSW spokesperson said the department was finalising submissions and expected to announce a preferred proponent in the coming weeks.
Sydney heading for biggest office construction boom since 1980s, owned by Chinese infrastructure and engineering behemoth CCCC International Holding, decided last year to expand into residential development, hotel investments and infrastructure public-private partnerships with a $1.1 billion mandate.
It was also looking at merger and acquisition opportunities while focusing on its core business within the infrastructure, building and rail markets. The group was also expanding afield into international markets, helped by CCCI’s overseas channels and presence.
It is one of Australia’s largest construction companies, alongside Multiplex and Lendlease.
John Holland did not have any comment and Colliers International’s John Carney and Jon Chomley, who were marketing the Macquarie Park property, declined to comment.
The sale of 45-61 Waterloo Road has been dogged by issues after the government pulled out of funding a 7000-square-metre public park at the site.
But those issues appear to have been resolved, with the local council, City of Ryde, putting the plans for the park on exhibition last year.
Earlier images of the proposed development indicated a landmark project, against the backdrop of the fast-growing Macquarie Park, which has been earmarked for housing and urban renewal. It is 300 metres to one of the business park suburb’s two train stations.
Anchored by Macquarie Shopping Centre and Macquarie University, the suburb has already attracted a list of top developers including Toga, Stamford Land, Romeciti, Golden Age and Greenland.
