A local group has snapped up a large 1.21 hectare site opposite Highpoint Shopping Centre for $22 million.
The site, which has an 8265 sq m warehouse and double-storey office, was owned by the JMC Group who had developed three residential towers behind it.
They purchased the property a number of years ago from the government and it’s located directly adjacent to the Maribyrnong Defence Site and Highpoint Shopping Centre.
CBRE agents David Minty, Nathan Mufale, JJ Heng and Bryce Pane did the deal which attracted eight offers.
“Four of them were from storage groups which is something we haven’t come across of late,” Mr Minty said.
Other build-to-rent groups active this week include Samma Property Group and Brightlight who paid around $20 million for 194 Lorimer Street, Docklands.
The 4509 sq m site beside the Bolte Bridge was bought from Development Victoria for a project aimed at millennials. The joint venture has a pipeline of 11 projects with 3144 apartments which they expect will be valued at more than $1.7 billion by 2028.
And the joint venture partners developing the former headquarters of Vision Australia at 346-350 Macaulay Road Kensington have launched themselves as Local.
Property players Matt Berg and Dan McLennan have teamed up with Macquarie Asset Management to develop a 500-unit project on the 8803 sq m site which sold last month for around $50 million.
Lease deals
Signs of life are emerging in the CBD office market as mobile app maker, EasyPark ANZ, takes space at 350 Collins Street.
EasyPark has signed a lease on a 200 sq m office on level seven of the old Citibank building and will move its 20 management and operations staff out of Prahran.
Bank Australia’s HQ at 222 High Street in Kew.Credit:
EasyPark boss Eli Grossinger Binshtok, said: “With the incredible growth that we are currently experiencing, we expect to double, even triple, our full-time staff over the next 12-18 months and beyond.”
Mayor Sally Capp, keen to see office workers return to the CBD, opened the new office last week.
Meanwhile, global financial services firm EightCap is already taking the next step, expanding its CBD footprint into refurbished office space on level 35 of the Rialto’s South Tower.
EightCap is vacating two suites at 360 Collins Street, where it occupied around 700 sq m to a 1173 sq m office in the Rialto.
The five-year deal was negotiated by Colliers agents Zac Seccull, Andrew Beasley, Shane Burns and Milly Stockdale.
EightCap boss Joel Murphy said “We had always prefered shorter-term lease deals to ensure we could accommodate future growth. However, we felt the time was right to commit to a longer-term lease at Rialto to capitalise on the market conditions at hand.”
“We feel as though we have created a really interesting and cool space for our staff to encourage them back into the office and we look forward to welcoming them back now with restrictions easing,” Mr Murphy said.
Colliers’ office leasing research shows demand from the tech sector is second only to the government so far this year.
Dexus office leasing manager Patrick Stronell said seven new tenants had signed up for space in the Rialto this year.
“We are witnessing a noticeable trend of tenants preferring a higher building grade than what they had previously occupied to help attract and retain talent,” Mr Stronell said.
Auction action
Auctions are also back on the city’s streets. The banana-yellow Just Tools shop at 174-180 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne attracted a strong crowd last week despite the lingering wintry weather.
The 334 sq m site sold for $4.8 million – $500,000 over the reserve, at a land rate of $14,371 a sq m – to a developer with plans for a major mixed-use development.
174-180 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne.Credit:
Records show a caveat has been placed on the title by 100 York Street, a company controlled by Ivan and Kathy Filoppovic, who also own concreting firm, the I&D Group. Their headquarters is around the corner at 100 York Street.
Colliers agents Tom Isaksson, Daniel Wolman, Oliver Hay and Leon Ma ran the auction.
Still in South Melbourne, Lemon Baxter agents Matt Walsh and Chris Curtain are selling a 530 sq m office at 150 Albert Road that comes with an astonishing 25 car parks.
The level one office returns $363,000 a year gross and is expected to fetch in the high-$4 million range for the property. It’s pitched at companies with a lot of salespeople on their staff.
Buxton buys
Buxton Projects has snapped up a townhouse site in East Malvern paying $10.5 million.
Records show United Energy Distribution was the vendor of the 3987 sq m site which faces Waverley Park alongside the Monash Freeway.
Colliers agents Hamish Burgess and Joe Kairouz handled the deal, with Urbis acting as transaction manager.
“The site ticked all the boxes, with immediate access to a park, train station and key arterials,” Mr Kairouz said.
“Development opportunities with park frontage, on the doorstep of a train station are an incredibly scarce yet valued commodity.”
Tight yield
Investor enthusiasm for regional property is holding up with the Sale Centrelink selling for $11.6 million on a razor sharp 5.4 per cent yield.
The 25-year-old government building, sold by its long-time boutique fund manager Castlerock, came in at $1.6 million more than the expected price and well above yields achieved for other regional Centrelinks.
Although it had only 3.6 years left on the leases, it beat the yields achieved on the sale of the Ararat centre – 7.74 percent yield – and Hamilton at 8.77 per cent.
The GovHub is on a 4404 sq m site in the centre of Sale and sold to an offshore investor.
Stonebridge Property Group agents Rorey James, Kevin Tong and Justin Dowers handled the expressions of interest campaign.
