News roundup: How cities will adapt to extreme heat, and more updates

For PropertyGuru’s news roundup, six strategies that will enable cities to adapt to the extreme heat. In other stories, the sale of two Syndey malls totals AUD100 million, while Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin of Thailand discusses plans to “build the world’s tallest building in Thailand.”

How to adapt cities to extreme heat

In June 2023, the planet experienced its hottest month on record. In Iran, the heat index reached a staggering 66.7 degrees Celsius, pushing the boundaries of human endurance. This alarming trend is not an anomaly. It is a stark reminder that temperatures will continue to rise as climate change intensifies.

Scientists are linking the rise to human-induced climate change and the El Niño phenomenon. Additionally, the natural warming of Pacific Ocean waters is being further intensified by global warming.

Heatwaves are currently sweeping through multiple regions worldwide, including Europe, the United States, and Asia. In Brazil, scientists are particularly concerned about the increased risk of wildfires, especially in the Amazon region. In June, the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado savanna experienced record-breaking wildfires, surpassing levels not seen since 2007.

How can we adapt cities to extreme heatwaves? ArchDaily shows us six strategies.

Shopping centres take off with AUD100 million in Sydney mall sales

Active shopping centre buyers, private developer Revelop and the listed HMC Capital, have snapped up two Sydney assets for a combined total of AUD100 million from a Centuria Capital-run fund.

realcommercial.com.au reports that the groups are both expanding their holdings of neighbourhood centres in Sydney, and their purchases show values have risen in this sector despite interest rate hikes.

Revelop picked up Pemulwuy Marketplace for AUD40 million, and HMC’s listed retail fund, HomeCo Daily Needs REIT, forked out about AUD60 million for West Ryde Marketplace.

Revelop director Charbel Hazzouri said the company had a significant history in the Pemulwuy estate since 2008 and in 2015 it bought the remainder of the undeveloped estate from Boral, allowing the formation and creation of many of the residential subdivisions and high-density apartments.

The two centres were sold by Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher from JLL in two off-market deals. The agency said the sales showed the strong investor appetite for core Sydney assets amid a period of slow deal flow this year.

Thai PM touts plan to build world’s tallest tower

A group of investors led by a Dubai-based real estate developer is in talks to build a mixed-use tower in Thailand that may vie for the title of the world’s tallest building, according to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.

Mr. Srettha met with a group of Middle Eastern and Chinese companies including Emaar Group, Broad Group, and Vatone Group, and discussed plans to “build the world’s tallest building in Thailand”, he said in a post on X and reported by the Bangkok Post on Friday. Emaar is best known for building Burj Khalifa in Dubai, currently the world’s tallest tower at 828 metres.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].