An office and former warehouse tenanted by Hillsong and smaller renters in Macquarie Park in Northern Sydney has been sold by the Bible Society. It was the former Headquarters for the NSW Bible Society.
“A service hall used by Hillsong church in Sydney’s northwest has sold for what agents claim is ‘a record rate’ for the area, with the new owners expected to continue using the property for religious services,” realcommercial.com.au reports.
“The property, used as Hillsong’s Macquarie Park campus, was reported to have attracted strong interest from various groups. Hillsong is understood to have used the site for various services, including a kids program for children aged 12 months to 12 years.”
RealCommercial’s headline identified the purchaser as an “international buyer” and in the paragraph quoted above says the new owner wants to “continue using the property for religious services,” and their story later identifies Hillsong as a “global megachurch.”
Which leads to the conclusion that Hillsong has purchased the property. The property had been extensively refurbished with Hillsong signage when their lease began several years ago. Whether the sale came up at the end of the lease is unknown.
Bible Society has been leasing its HQ in the centre of North Sydney, with the cost covered by the Hillsong rental payments. The Macquarie Park property had been the jewel in the Bible Society’s real estate holdings, much diminished from its heyday when it held state HQs in the CBD of most capitals. However, the Bible Society may have done well on this sale with the Byfield street property gaining value by falling within the Macquarie Park Transport Orientated Development zone created last November.
Image: Hillsong Macquarie Park. Image credit: Rietsma Construction