AMP Capital fills more space at Crossroads

Once the Hunter Express property is complete, the remaining development site will comprise 17,655 square metes, and there is development application approved.

Once the final building is complete, Crossroads will accommodate 90,000 square metres of warehouse and office space across three separate precincts. The other tenants are Electrolux, WesTrac,
Cosentino and Versiclad.

AMP Capital managing director of office and industrial Luke Briscoe said strong demand and a positive response from customers gave the group the confidence to speculatively develop Building 3 at the centre.

Hunter Express will occupy Building 3 within Precinct B, consisting of 9455 square metres of warehouse and 500 square metres of office space.

“Crossroads is now the place of employment for over 380 people and our customers are already collaborating and using each other’s service. For example, the Electrolux facility has Cosentino-supplied stone in their test kitchens and, similarly, Cosentino is using Electrolux product in their showroom,” Mr Brisco said.

Hunter Express chief executive Mark Hunter said the facility would provide the group with more staging space and would be fitted with a state-of-the-art sortation system.

Hunter Express partnered with integrated supply chain, property and project management firm TM Insight to procure the new Casula property.

The lease deal comes with Sydney’s central west industrial market fast becoming the engine room of the city’s service economy, and as industrial landlords are calling the shots.

With a backdrop of less than 1.5 per cent vacancy rates, continued yield compression to below 5 per cent and minimal developable land left, Sydney’s west industrial market continues to experience upward trends and set record growth rates for both capital values and rents.

Kellie Tattersall, director of industrial at Colliers International, said capital values for industrial properties had increased by an average of 18 per cent over the past 12 months and were now averaging out at $3285 per square metre for properties below 5000 square metres.

“Similarly, buildings above 5000 square metres have increased by 11 per cent and are averaging out at $2180 per square metre. This places more pressure on investors to accept sharper yields and move up the risk curve,”Ms Tattersall said.

Nearby at Moorebank, CBRE’s industrial and logistics team has represented Goodman in leasing up to 90,000 square metres across the area’s industrial precinct over the past year.

In one of the most recent deals, American manufacturing property Briggs & Stratton has signed a five-year lease on a new facility spanning 14,500 square metres at the Oakdale South Industrial Estate.