Chatswood Disaster Recovery Centre sells for $23 million

JLL Capital Markets has sold a former disaster recovery centre at 26 Smith Street, Chatswood, to Kennards Self Storage for $23.05 million.

The property is located in one of the Lower North Shore's highly sought-after industrial precincts.

The deal was negotiated by JLL’s Gordon McFadyen, Harry Sullivan and Dylan McEvoy following an International Expressions of Interest campaign.

Mr McFadyen said the four-week campaign attracted very strong interest with a variety of offers from owner occupiers, developers, local and offshore investors.

“The building has high quality existing improvements similar to an office building yet lends itself toward adaptive reuse. This was further supported by planning controls that could allow Kennards to add further floor area on the site (STCA),” he said.

Mr McFadyen said the self-storage industry was one of the most buoyant sectors for demand in the inner industrial markets as increased residential density demanded more space.

He said the site could be adapted and expanded to capitalise on the available floor area and could be expanded on-site to suit a self-storage offer (STCA).

JLL Director of Sales & Investments – NSW, Mr Sullivan said the lack of land supply on Sydney’s North Shore has meant there is a shortage of industrial development sites.

“It is rare to get over 5500 sqm of freehold land in this area as land is usually fragmented by strata-titled properties or taken by owner-occupiers making it very difficult to develop new projects,” he said.

Mr Sullivan said the property was a hybrid building with high ceilings, a loading dock, and 600 workstations in the office space.

“The purchase of the building by Kennards is a good example of adaptive reuse of an obsolete building with tremendous inherent value,” he said.

The five-storey building was initially constructed in the early 1990s and repurposed in 2017 into a state-of-the-art Disaster Recovery Centre featuring a high-spec fit-out, substantial power infrastructure, and high-value plant and equipment.

With a gross lettable area (GLA) of 5629.2 sqm and a site of 5644 sqm, 26 Smith Street is zoned E4-General Industrial with a special area floor space ratio (FSR) of 2:1. Subject to relevant council approvals, this creates a maximum potential gross floor area (GFA) of 11,288 sqm.

The Chatswood industrial precinct is home to major institutions such as Bunnings Warehouse, Woolworths, Tesla, and Kennards Self Storage, reflecting the high demand for industrial operations and urban services in the area.

The property also enjoys seamless connectivity to major arterial roads, including the M2 Motorway, M1 Motorway, Pacific Highway, and Boundary Street, facilitating easy access across Greater Sydney.