Vacant Balwyn North Village Building Sells for $4.05m
Owner-occupiers and investors have competed for a versatile vacant building in the prime of tightly held The Village Balwyn North, which sold for nearly $1 million above the reserve at a sensational auction.

Fitzroys’ Chris James and Shawn Luo sold the prominent 410sqm building at 83-85 Doncaster Road, Balwyn North for $4.050 million under the hammer in front of a large crowd.

A private medical specialist looking to occupy the premises eventually won out from other owner-occupiers, including medical users, financial services and insurance firms, lawyers and other local businesses, as well as investors, land bankers and developers.

The substantial part-single and 2-storey building is on a significant 471sqm land holding with expansive 11.9m frontages to both Doncaster Road and a rear council carpark, and includes on-site parking with rear access. Zoned Commercial 1 and centrally positioned within the North Balwyn Neighbourhood Activity Centre, the property provided potential for multiple alternate use and development outcomes.

The property is next to an Amcal pharmacy and amongst Bakers Delight, Signorelli’s Fruit & Vegetables, Salzano’s Delicatessen, Australia Post, and a number of established eateries and service retailers.

“Properties in the prime of Melbourne’s high-performing shopping strips and local villages are clearly compelling opportunities across the market,” James said.

Luo said, “Owner-occupiers competing for vacant properties like this are always a big display of confidence in a property’s location.”

“This is a particularly tightly-held location with low vacancies so owner-occupiers were particularly prominent in the enquiry, looking to take the rare chance to acquire their own premises and get into the prime of strip.

“Balwyn North Village is located in one of Melbourne’s most highly regarded eastern suburban locations, servicing an affluent catchment and close to public transport, freeway network and schools,” he said.

He said there remains a large demand from investors and owner-occupiers across the Melbourne commercial property market for vacant buildings with value-add potential, creating an environment for strong results.

Fitzroys has recently sold a number of vacant buildings including 310-314 Lygon Street, Carlton to an investor for $4.075 million, the Carlton Post Office building at 146-154 Elgin Street for $5.525 million, 74 Station Street, in an absolute prime position in the Fairfield Village retail precinct, for $500,000 above reserve, and 318 Ascot Vale Road in Moonee Ponds, to a local medical practitioner.

Charter Hall Takes 50% share
Charter Hall Prime Office Fund is the latest major investor to back the future of the Melbourne CBD, taking a 50% stake in the $2 billion Southern Cross Towers complex in the city’s Paris End.

Southern Cross East and West Towers, at 111-121 Exhibition Street, comprise a combined 126,000sqm of office space with floor plates spanning 2,000 to 3,000sqm. The circa 80,000sq, 47-storey East Tower is occupied by the Victorian government with a weighted average lease expiry of 6 years, while the 20-storey West Tower is anchored by Australia Post, which will be moving to a Charter Hall development at 480 Swan Street in Richmond in 2025.

The buildings have frontages to Exhibition, Little Collins and Bourke streets.

Charter Hall acquired the stake from Canadian group Brookfield and US giant Blackstone on a circa 4.5% yield.

Charter Hall also owns large-scale Melbourne CBD office assets including the $1.5 billion Wesley Place precinct that includes towers at each of 130, 140 and 150 Lonsdale Street, as well as 555 Collins Street.

The transaction follows Singaporean fund manager HThree City again showing its confidence in the CBD with the $236 million acquisition of the 330 Collins Street office tower alongside co-investor City Developments Limited.

Located at the intersection of Elizabeth Street, the 18,000sqm, 18-storey tower is around 90% leased. HThree City last year also bought the partly-vacant 446 Collins Street office building for nearly $73 million, on a fully leased 4.3% yield.

Also recently, CapitaLand Investment bought the 22-storey office tower at 120 Spencer Street, opposite Southern Cross Station, for $321.25 million with 97.5% occupancy and SLB Development picked up the vacant former Victoria University campus building at 225 King Street for $40 million.

New Government Office Building for Frankston
Frankston will be home to a new $49 million office building after Melbourne-based fund manager Castlerock Property won the tender to build new offices for the Victorian government.

The 5,500sqm building will accommodate more than 450 government employees under a long-term lease agreement.

It will be developed on the former Frankston International Motel site at 383 Nepean Highway, a 4,640sqm landholding that Castlerock bought for $12.5 million in 2020.

Elsewhere in Frankston, the $1.1 billion redevelopment of the Frankston Hospital began last month, while Pace is planning a $150 million apartment tower on the old cinema site at 438-444 Nepean Highway and Vicinity Centres has gained approval for a $120 million, 14,000sqm office tower above the Bayside shopping centre.