Parramatta’s Entrada Shopping Centre Hits the Block for $40m

New Zealand-based Cook Property Group has listed the Entrada Shopping Centre in Sydney’s “second CBD” of Parramatta, with price expectations north of $40 million.

The fully-leased, Coles-anchored centre, first developed by apartment builder Dyldam in 2011, is on the corner of Victoria Road and Church Street, Parramatta.

With a gross lettable area of 5,570sq m and its own 196-space car park, the asset was picked up by the group in 2017 for $41.32 million.

Cook Property Group owns a portfolio of office, industrial and retail property in New Zealand in addition to more recent Australian acquisitions.

CBRE’s James Douglas, who has been appointed to manage the sale campaign, said the centre had been brought to market amid ongoing demand for non-discretionary retail investment opportunities.

“Parramatta is a burgeoning residential and employment hub, and the population within Entrada shopping centre’s main trade area itself is forecast to grow at 2.9 per cent per annum, over double the Sydney metropolitan benchmark between now and 2036.”

“The centre is located to capitalise on the continued growth of the Parramatta CBD, with ‘Sydney’s second CBD’ currently the subject of $20 billion of public and private infrastructure spending,” Douglas said.

The centre sits directly opposite Prince Alfred Square, which will feature as a stop on the light rail network to open on Church Street in 2023, and near the new $300 million Bankwest Stadium, the $1.2 billion Riverbank Precinct and proposed Parramatta Metro Station.

Parramatta, already a sizeable business hub, has remained a bright spot for investment and development throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Central to Parramatta’s transformation has been Parramatta Square, a $2.8 billion project with four towers, which Walker Corporation broke ground on in 2017.

The Parramatta Riverbank is also set for a $1.2billion urban renewal project.

The 20,000sq m site on the banks of the Parramatta River will be home to major retail, dining, heritage and cultural facilities.

Sydney’s under-construction second international airport will also create 11,000 jobs during construction and will support 28,000 direct and indirect jobs five years after it opens in 2026.

The NSW government also has plans to develop an 11,200-hectare greenfield site surrounding the new airport which is expected to drive the creation of 200,000 jobs across the wider Western Parkland City by 2036.