Hines Buys Queensland Cold Storage Property for APAC Flagship Fund

US developer and investment manager Hines has acquired a cold storage property in Queensland on behalf of its flagship Asia Pacific fund, marking the vehicle’s second acquisition in the northeast Australian state and seventh industrial asset overall in the country.

The property in Ormeau, a suburb midway between Brisbane and Gold Coast, is the first cold storage asset for Hines Asia Property Partners, a commingled APAC core-plus fund. The deal value and identity of the seller weren’t disclosed.

Alysia Reilly, head of industrial and logistics for Australia at Hines, said the country is a leader when it comes to growing demand for cold storage space.

“In addition to the macroeconomic tailwinds experienced by the sector, new building technologies and standards are reducing the outdated perceived risk of cold storage investment,” Reilly said Thursday in a release. “The development at Ormeau is a strategic opportunity to capitalise on the current dislocation in supply and demand dynamics, with the latest leasing statistics showing an extremely tight leasing market across the entire East Coast of Australia.”

Well-Placed Chilly Shed

Located at 31 Lahrs Road in Ormeau, the property has 11,175 square metres (120,287 square feet) of floor area and sits in an established industrial precinct that has developed into a hub for cold storage occupiers, Hines said.

The property is adjacent to the M1 motorway and can be accessed in both directions via the Lahrs Road on- and off-ramps. Sustainability features include rainwater harvesting, LED lighting and solar power, and the building can be leased in full or as two individual tenancies of 5,587 square metres, according to leasing agent Cushman & Wakefield.

State-of-the-art design and refrigeration technology allows the facility to operate as 100 percent chiller, 100 percent freezer or a combination of both, the agency said.

“We are seeing increased demand for the cold storage sector not just in Australia, but across Asia Pacific as consumer appetite continues to shift post-COVID towards online grocery and meal deliveries,” said Chiang Ling Ng, chief investment officer for Asia at Hines.

Regionwide Reach

Since 2020, Houston-based Hines has acquired 11 logistics assets in Asia Pacific totalling 633,192 square metres, including cold storage properties in South Korea and southern China.

The HAPP fund was launched in 2021 with Canada’s Cadillac Fairview as the cornerstone investor and an initial investment capacity of $900 million. The vehicle made its first Australian logistics acquisitions last year, picking up a portfolio of three properties in Sydney and a fourth in Brisbane from investment manager Pipeclay Lawson and later adding two Melbourne projects purchased from Honda.

Privately owned Hines was founded in 1957 and now operates in 30 countries after the recent opening of its New Zealand office. The firm manages a $92.3 billion portfolio of assets across residential, logistics, retail, office and mixed-use strategies.