When you think of multi-million-dollar property sales, you might picture luxury penthouses or grand country homes.
But some of the biggest sales in real estate can be found in places you’d never expect.
Sometimes, the most valuable spaces are the ones keeping things very cool.
Case in point: a cold storage facility in Sydney’s northwest has just sold for a chilly $66.5 million—breaking records in Australia’s commercial property sector.
Located at 1-3 Zeleny Road, Michenbury, this state-of-the-art refrigeration warehouse spans more than 10,000 square metres—enough to chill an entire suburb’s supply of ice cream, seafood and frozen peas.
The property first went on the market in February 2024 with an asking price above $75 million.
After negotiations, investment firm Irongate Group secured the deal at nearly $10 million below the initial estimate.
So, what makes a giant fridge worth nearly $67 million?
For starters, it comes with a golden ticket: a long-term lease with Minus 1 Refrigerated Transport, a leader in cold logistics.
Once construction concludes—delivered by design and build experts Spaceframe—Minus 1 is set to occupy the space, guaranteeing a reliable stream of rental income for its new owners.
The sale was managed by Colliers’ Industrial and Logistics Capital Markets team, with Gavin Bishop and Sean Thomson overseeing the transaction for Barber Property Group.
According to Colliers, the value of Australia’s cold storage sector currently sits at $5.5 billion, with demand steadily rising.
Cold storage accounts for only 2-3 per cent of total industrial supply, making it a rare and highly sought-after asset among investors.
Why the sudden surge in interest? As Mr Bishop explains, declining interest rates and expectations of future cuts have made ‘fund-through’ deals—where investors pay during the build phase—particularly attractive.
‘We are experiencing heightened demand from both domestic and international investors for core industrial products within Sydney,’ he says.
Mr Thomson notes that the growing appetite for cold storage is driven by ‘structural tailwinds’ across food logistics, pharmaceuticals and the booming grocery delivery market.
With Australia’s national industrial vacancy rate at just 2.9 per cent—and even lower for cold storage—these facilities are rare finds.
‘As a niche subsector within industrial real estate, cold storage assets offer strong rental growth potential and are often underpinned by long-term leases to high-credit tenants,’ Mr Thomson explains.
‘That makes them increasingly attractive to institutional capital seeking defensive income and inflation protection.’
But it’s not just about storing frozen goods—these facilities now play a vital role in Australia’s food supply, pharmaceutical delivery and online grocery ecosystem.
As more Australians opt for online grocery shopping, the demand for high-performance cold storage continues to grow.
For those who remember the days of the local milkman or the corner deli, it’s astonishing to see how the humble fridge has evolved into a multi-million-dollar investment opportunity.
Who would have thought a warehouse full of freezers could become one of the hottest assets on the market?
As cold storage takes centre stage in Australia’s industrial property market, what do you think drives this shift? Are you seeing similar changes in the way your groceries or medicines are stored or delivered? Share your thoughts in the comments below—we’d love to hear from you!
Also read: Is it too good to be true? Here’s the catch behind a $60,000 Sydney property that’s on sale
