Phoenix Properties buys on the Terrace

AFTER months of negotiations the Commonwealth Bank building at 150 St Georges Terrace has been sold to Simon Lee’s private trust group, Phoenix Properties International.

The prime, 12-level CBD building adjoining the Central Park gardens was put on the market in July, with expressions of interest closing in early August.

CB Richard Ellis selling agent Peter Agostino confirmed that the office building had been sold and settled, however was unable to comment on the sale due to a confidentiality clause.

Phoenix Properties director Gary Bettridge confirmed that the group had purchased the building and would add it to the private trust’s property portfolio, which also contains property in the eastern States.

Mr Bettridge declined to comment further on the sale, but industry speculation has placed the property’s purchase price at more than $20 million.

Last year Phoenix Properties International completed one of the most significant Perth land sales in recent years when it sold the 4.1ha former metropolitan markets site to joint venture group ING Real Estate Development Australia and Lewis Land for around $20 million.

The Commonwealth Bank building had been owned by Direct Property Investment Fund, which is an unlisted wholesale property fund managed by Commonwealth Property Ltd and a division of the Commonwealth Bank.

Last month, law firm Corrs Chamber Westgarth announced that it would relocate from 150 St Georges Terrace – where it had been for the past 25 years – to the new Woodside Plaza building, leaving a vacancy of 2000 square metres from the middle of 2004. 

The remaining main occupant in the building is the Commonwealth Bank, which takes up the ground floor and levels one to six.