Newmark Sells Stake in Gurner’s $2.75bn Jam Factory

Gurner and Qualitas have acquired the remaining interest in the Jam Factory site at Melbourne’s South Yarra and provided a $180 million injection to develop the site indepdendently.

The developer and alternative real estate manager will now become the sole owners of the 20,000sq m site at South Yarra, where they will deliver a $2.75-billion city-shaping project. 

After eight years of ownership Newmark Capital managing director Chris Langford said it was the right time to sell the stake. 

“The decision to divest aligns with our commitment of delivering an outcome for our investors in the Newmark Jam Factory Property Trust,” Langford said. 

“This sale provides a clear pathway forward and delivers investors with certainty in an unpredictable market.”

Plans for the Jam Factory mixed-use precinct include around 15,000sq m of commercial office, more than 20,000sq m of retail, Village Cinemas, a large wellness precinct, two hotels and “ultra luxury” residential towers.

The revised ownership structure will allow the joint venture to phase the delivery of the project into smaller stages that are able to be built independently, which is important in this challenging construction environment, to de-risk the development site long-term.

▲ Revised plans for stage 1 are before the City of Stonnington Council.

The Urban Developer understands that demolition work on the first stage of the Jam Factory development is due to commence early 2025. 

The revised plans which are still before the City of Stonnington Council include greater retention of the heritage facade, underpinned by the developer’s long standing affinity with heritage projects, as well as a repositioning of the Village Cinema complex to anchor it on the north-facing, 1800sq m public piazza.

The residences are expected to start from $750,000 and range up to $30 million for the penthouses, with the four buildings each targeting a specific segment of the market.

Gurner founder Tim Gurner, pictured in main image with Gurner Group chief executive Ahmed Fahour and Gurner chief general counsel Kate Cookes, said the Jam Factory was one of Melbourne’s “most important and iconic regeneration sites”.

“With this transaction now finalised we can turn our attention to fast-tracking construction and making this city-shaping redevelopment happen,” Gurner said.

“We’ll breathe new life into the site and deliver our signature level of amenity, service and residences alongside world class retail and commercial.

“We’ll be taking opulence, sophistication and luxury to a whole new level with our sky-high mansions, delivering a level of residence that was previously only found on Toorak’s most exclusive streets.

“Think arch-shaped pools, basketball courts and recreation areas, private events, exclusive resident services, and amenities that rival those of the world’s most exclusive hotels.”

▲ Gurner said they would apply the learnings from St Moritz and other high-end projects. 

Qualitas global head of real estate Mark Fischer said the capital group’s “ability to provide flexible capital for this large project demonstrates our equity investment capabilities”.

Qualitas recently announced a $300 million commitment from a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for the existing Qualitas Diversified Credit Investments (QDCI) platform. 

This represents ADIA’s third commitment to QDCI and brings the total committed capital of QDCI to $1.67 billion and Qualitas’ total funds under management to $8.9 billion, representing 45.7 per cent growth from 30 June 2023.