20 November 2018

Uniting Church buys Woden Centre for $8 million

| Ian Bushnell
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The Woden Centre is perfectly positioned and offers long-term re-development prospects. Photo: Supplied/

The Woden Centre, a four-level building adjacent to the Woden bus interchange and shopping centre that was also known as the Churches Centre, has been purchased by the Uniting Church for $8.155 million.

Colliers International’s Associate Director City and Metro Sales, Matthew Winter said the 1946.5 square metre building was placed on the market in early August by Woden Square Pty Ltd, a company associated with the Cataldo Group.

“It drew strong interest thanks to its location adjacent to Westfield Woden and fronting the bus interchange, 100 per cent occupancy and 3.11-year WALE [weighted average lease expiry],” he said.

“In a lovely twist of fate, this building which for much of its life has been known as the Churches Centre, was secured by the Uniting Church of Australia.”

The recently refurbished building has a diversified tenancy profile including national businesses Aussie Home Loans, Red Cross, IMB, and Workways.

“During 2018, Canberra has had limited on-market opportunities, yet it is a market in demand, particularly around our town centres,” Mr Winter said.

“Woden is particularly popular as it is undergoing gentrification and there are significant residential developments coming online which will bring increased activity to the area. Therefore, we were not surprised this sale generated enquiry from across Australia. Much of the interest we saw was from interstate, although a mix of local privates and developers also participated.”

Mr Winter said the Woden Centre offered its new owners an initial yield of 7.62 per cent, but presented further opportunities for the new owner to add value.

There might also be long-term re-development prospects given the building’s triple street frontage, CZ1 Zoning and rectangular-shaped 732 square metre site area.

“Overall this was a strong result which confirms ongoing confidence in Canberra despite the tight lending criteria from banks and some uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment,” Mr Winter said.

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Woden Valley Community Council8:31 pm 21 Nov 18

The WVCC hopes that the Uniting Church is focussed on the community as opposed to the yield from a 28 storey high density residential development on the site that would further reduce the sun in the square for the comfort of the community. We ask that when the opportunity arises the Uniting Church leases the shops that front the town square to cafes, restaurants and bars to bring life back to the square. We would like to work with the Uniting Church to make the Woden Experiment a success.

Capital Retro7:12 am 21 Nov 18

“Pay taxes you bludgers” says Mark Bundy.

Does your demand also extend to the trade union sector, Mark?

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