Lion Property Group plans $21m office project at Newstead

Melbourne-based boutique residential property developer Lion Property Group has dipped its toe into the commercial space for the first time with plans for a $21 million office building at Newstead in Brisbane’s inner east.

The company has lodged a development application with the Brisbane City Council to develop a five-level project, named Atelier 43, on a 569sqm site at 43 Commercial Road in an area that the company says is a sought-after lifestyle and employment hub.

The building, designed by Melbourne-based architect BayleyWard, will deliver 1,1914sqm of net lettable area, including ground floor retail space.

Lion Property Group says while it has not secured an anchor tenant for the building, the company may potentially retain a floor for its Brisbane office.

The company has also confirmed it has received inquiries from potential tenants in Victoria and NSW looking to establish operations in Brisbane.

Lion Property Group was founded in 2018 by Garry Pesochinsky, who cut his teeth in property development at a young age, and marketing specialist John Sader.

The company has undertaken multiple small-scale residential developments in Melbourne and Brisbane over the past five years, with some of the projects partly financed by the company’s own funds management arm.

The fund raised $6 million for the Newstead project, which was used to secure the redevelopment site that currently houses a two-level commercial building in a mixed-use planning zone.

Pesochinsky says the company has homed in on Brisbane for its first commercial development because of the city’s growth potential and its relative affordability.

“We’ve been operating in Brisbane since our inception and we’re big believers in the city’s potential, a belief which was proven correct by Brisbane’s truly extraordinary growth from 2020,” Pesochinsky tells Business News Australia.

“But the city still has plenty more potential growth as huge investments from the state government and the private sector ahead of the 2032 Olympics will make Brisbane a true competitor for Australia’s most liveable city.

“With cost of acquisition lower than Melbourne or Sydney, increased demand for completed product, we’ve settled in for the long term having more projects in Brisbane than elsewhere.”

Pesochinsky says the group, which has undertaken several residential boutique apartment projects in nearby Hamilton, has chosen Newstead because of its location within one of the inner city’s most sought after residential lifestyle hubs.

“What’s special about Newstead is that it has a real mix of residential and commercial buildings making it a real hub for a commercial offering,” Pesochinsky says.

“It is located so well to James Street, Gasworks, the Brisbane River and the city which is why everyone loves to live and work in the area.”

The development will have a ground-floor lobby area and a landscaped pocket-plaza at its base, including retail space for a café.

The project’s office spaces have been designed with Brisbane’s sub-tropical climate in mind as each floor in the building will incorporate bathrooms and showers.

Lion Property Group says the building will offer views of the CBD and Brisbane River and feature an outdoor breakout area for tenants to ‘enjoy an onsite oasis with beautifully designed gardens’.

“We are excited to enter the commercial market with an innovative and architecturally sound product that will stand out on the Commercial Road location,” Sader says.

The development application for the project is currently being assessed by the Brisbane City Council.