The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has formed a joint venture with Lend Lease Corp. and Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial (APPFC) to develop and hold two institutional quality, premium-grade and energy-efficient waterfront office towers at the Barangaroo South Project in Sydney's Central Business District in Australia.
The joint venture is committing C$2.08 billion, with CPPIB committing 50% or C$1.04 billion of the equity for the project. Lend Lease and APPFC will each commit 25% to the joint venture. The joint venture investment in the Barangaroo South Project, which is part of a major new extension of the Sydney Central Business District, involves the development of two premium-grade office towers of 41 floors and 38 floors totaling 1.78 million square feet. The two towers will offer a retail component comprising 73,625 square feet of retail space. Completion of both towers is expected in 2015.
The Barangaroo South Project will be CPPIB's first direct office investment in Australia and its largest investment in a single real estate asset to date.
‘This is an excellent opportunity to invest in a high-quality, iconic commercial waterfront real estate development alongside Lend Lease, one of the region's top developers, and APPFC, an aligned, local institutional partner,’ says Graeme Eadie, senior vice president of real estate investments for CPPIB. ‘We will be able to gain a significant exposure in Sydney's Central Business District through a premium-grade office development offering the tenants highly efficient and environmentally sensitive facilities. This investment supports our real estate strategy to acquire premium, long-term assets in key global markets.’
