GPT Steps Into Parramatta With Strategic Acquisition

GPT Group has successfully acquired a site on the corner of Smith and Phillip Streets in the heart of Parramatta's CBD with a transaction value of $31.2 million.

The acquisition is the listed fund manager and investor’s first move into the area, which is currently the centre of a major development push by big players including Charter Hall, Lang Walker's Walker Corporation and DEXUS Property Group, according to The Australian Financial Review.

The site, previously purchased off the Salvation Army, is reportedly primed to accommodate a potential 26,000-square- metre office tower.

This would meet a current high demand, according to The Sydney Morning Herald for office, retail and residential developments in the area.

GPT's head of office and logistics Matthew Faddy told the AFR that an office project would fit with the broader state strategy to develop Parramatta as another CBD within Sydney.

"GPT is very excited to have marked its entry into Parramatta's CBD office market by securing this prime location," he said.

"Already Australia's fifth largest office market, Parramatta's CBD is expected to see significant growth in demand for quality office space over the next decade."GPT Group, which lists shopping centres, high-rise city offices and industrial estates in its property portfolio, reportedly earned $1.153 billion in net profit after tax for 2016 thanks to a rise in property values and improving income from office markets in Melbourne and Sydney.

Mr Faddy told The Sydney Morning Herald he believed Parramatta’s importance will only grow, and continue to do so as NSW government plans for new light rail, Metro rail lines and motorway connections into Parramatta, along with the rejuvenation of the CBD along Parramatta River.