PGIM bulks up on $100m mall

Published on: 17/07/2019

Global asset manager PGIM has taken possession of a new, large format retail centre in Melbourne’s northern suburbs in a deal worth more than $100 million.

The new homemaker centre known as Craigieburn Junction was developed on a 6.5 hectare site at 420 Craigieburn Road by Melbourne-based Oreana Property Group, led by Tony and Steven Sass.

Construction started in September 2017 with the mall to officially open this weekend.

Spanning over 23,000 sqm of lettable space and more than 60 tenancies, Craigieburn Junction was 100 per cent pre-leased prior to opening with a retail mix that includes Freedom Furniture, Nick Scali, Snooze, Super Cheap Auto, Petbarn and Beacon Lighting.

The centre is built around a 600-bay car park and includes a Caltex service station, Hungry Jack’s restaurant and office space.

A fund managed by PGIM Real Estate struck a deal to acquire the homemaker centre on a fund-through basis with the final price understood to be more than $100 million.

PGIM Real Estate is the real estate investment business of PGIM. As of December 2018, PGIM managed $US72.2 billion of assets on behalf of institutional and high-net-worth investors.

PGIM is the asset management arm of American life insurance giant Prudential Financial, which ranks among the top 10 largest asset managers in the world with more than $US1 trillion in assets under management.

Last year PGIM Real Estate transacted $US 12 billion worth of property, including acquiring a 75 per cent state in York & George, a $450 million retail and commercial development at 383 George Street, Sydney, being undertaken by Fife Capital.

The developer of Craigieburn Junction, Oreana Property Group, acquired the vacant englobo residential sub-division site for $3.1 million in October 2014 and in 2016 obtained planning approval from Hume Council for a large format retail centre.

Commercial agents Burgess Rawson, led by retail leasing director David Mark, were appointed to head up the leasing campaign.

While on paper a ‘simple sell’ given the projected growth in the area and the now completed neighbouring Craigieburn Central Shopping Centre and aquatic centre, Mr Mark said some retailers were initially reluctant to commit.

“They felt it may cannibalise their other stores in Melbourne’s north, including Essendon and Epping, even though some were upwards of 15 km away.

“But once they saw what this was going to be, their view was that if they didn’t go here, they’d miss out on market share,” Mr Mark said.

According to its website, Oreana Property Group has a big pipeline of commercial, retail, residential and childcare centre developments.

Tony and Steven Sass founded Oreana Property Group after a long career within family offices.

Tony Sass is also a director of wealth and advisory firm Oreana Financial Services.

Larry Schlesinger, Australian Financial Review

Share

Stay up to date with our latest portfolio auctions & insights