DEXUS and Brookfield sell off 324 Queen Street

DEXUS and Brookfield sell off 324 Queen StreetAbacus Property Group and South African-based Investec Australia Property Fund will pay $66 million each for an equal share of the B Grade Brisbane office tower.DEXUS Wholesale Property Fund and Canadian-based Brookfield Property Partners will both sell their per cent stake in the 19,895 sqm asset.Originally constructed in 1975 and extensively refurbished in 2001, 324 Queen Street incorporates 22 levels of commercial office space, two levels of basement car parking for 98 cars, ground floor retail including the ANZ Bank Chamber, and three podium floors.The building is situated on the northern corner of Queen and Creek streets in Brisbane’s commercial precinct known as the Golden Triangle.It is currently around 80 per cent occupied and has a lease expiry profile of 3.2 years.According to DWPF fund manager, Michael Sheffield, the sale “represents an opportunity for DWPF to divest at the right point in the cycle and reinvest the proceeds into the Fund’s active development pipeline, and reflects our continued focus on enhancing value for unitholders.”Abacus Property Group chief executive Frank Wolf, says the asset offers “excellent fundamentals in a prime location with exciting opportunities in a complex office market”. Just last week Abacus Property Group offloaded 31-49 Browns Road in Melbourne’s Clayton for $51.5 million to an offshore developer.The 324 Queen Street deal was brokered by JLL’s Seb Turnbull and Luke Billiau and Knight Frank’s Justin Bond and Ben McGrath.Settlement, subject to the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board, is expected to occur in December.