King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has advised Local: Residential on its acquisition and financing of a well-located site in South Melbourne, to be developed into a build-to-rent apartment project with a complete value of $370 million.
The acquisition adds to Local’s $2.5 billion residential development pipeline in Melbourne (and $3.25 billion nationally). The platform’s second South Melbourne project will include ten percent affordable housing and will be delivered in line with Local’s sustainability initiatives.
KWM advised on the foreign investment and other regulatory approvals required for the acquisition, as well as associated Australian tax considerations.
The cross-disciplinary KWM team was led by Partner Emily Masters (Real Estate), supported by Partners Jonathan Oldham (Banking & Finance), Lizzie Knight (Foreign Investment), Leah Ranie (Tax) and Jane Hider (Construction) with Senior Associates Lachlan O’Brien (Real Estate), Stuart Alexander (Banking & Finance) and Solicitor Sofia Jaquiery (Construction) .
Commenting on the deal, Partner Emily Masters said:
“We are extremely proud to work with Local on its build-to-rent projects throughout Australia, which are contributing to the nation’s housing supply. The build-to-rent sector in Australia is still a relatively new and growing market, and KWM has leading expertise on the regulatory complexities of these projects.”
Jacqui Scales, Senior Legal Counsel at Local said:
“KWM has assisted us with acquiring a number of high-quality sites, including our recent acquisition of a new asset located in one of Melbourne’s most connected inner-city precincts. The KWM team were efficient and worked collaboratively with the vendor’s lawyers to enable us to secure this site which will enable us to deliver 355 new apartments which we are very excited about.”
KWM has acted for Local on a number of its acquisitions and build-to-rent developments across Australia. The team also recently advised Local on securing development rights to the last parcel at Fitzroy Gasworks, which will deliver 360 apartments, including 100 affordable dwellings.
