$10.7m Worth of Brighton Properties Hit The Market
The prime of arguably Australia’s premier shopping strip, Church Street, Brighton, is set for a rare retail property auction, while an ultra-rare trophy investment just moments from the high-performing shopping has also hit the market, presenting as Bayside’s ultimate landbank.

Fitzroys’ Mark Talbot, Shawn Luo and Tom Fisher are marketing 51 Church Street, home to powerhouse ASX-listed tenant Flight Centre, which will go to auction on Thursday, 29 September at 1pm on-site.

Expectations are of $4 million-plus for the property, which comprises a 112sqm building that has been regularly refitted and is on a 227sqm site.

Flight Centre, which has occupied the building for over 20 years, has renewed its lease until December 2028, currently returning $142,500pa plus outgoings (including land tax) and GST with fixed annual increases.

“Travel is back and so is Flight Centre, which has renewed a long-term lease,” Talbot said.

One of world’s largest travel groups, Flight Centre boasts a market capital of $3.26 billion and a vast leisure and corporate travel sales network that extends through Australia and New Zealand, North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the United Arab Emirates, China, India, Singapore and Malaysia. Flight Centre’s global corporate travel management network extends to 90 other countries through licensing agreements with independent local operators.

“Well-located, income producing bricks and mortar assets with long-term leases to quality tenants are among the most secure investments in the current environment, and are delivering consistent, reliable cash flows amid sharemarket and residential market volatility,” Talbot said.

According to Fitzroys’ forthcoming Walk the Strip report, Church Street again retained the lowest vacancy rate of Melbourne’s iconic shopping strips in 2022.

“Melbourne’s shopping strips have demonstrated their resilience over the past 2 years, and none more so than Church Street, Brighton,” Talbot said.

“Church Street, Brighton has remained notoriously tightly held.”

Talbot, Luo and Fisher are also marketing 28 Carpenter Street, just 60 metres from Church Street, which is being offered for sale for the first time in 45 years, and will go to auction on Thursday, 15 September at 1pm on-site.

Expectations are of $6.7 million-plus for the property. It comprises a 504sqm immaculately presented double-storey building, on a large 589sqm landholding with a wide 15m frontage.

The building is fully leased to 3 long-standing quality tenants in Dorevitch Pathology, Buxton Real Estate and dentist Lifestyle Smiles with options through to October 2033, returning $257,833pa plus outgoings and GST.

The site is zoned Commercial 1 and has a highly flexible Design and Development Overlay, providing a magnitude of future redevelopment outcomes.

“The site presents as Bayside’s ultimately landbank opportunity. Favourable zoning offers the ultra-rare opportunity to acquire a sizeable landholding in the immediate proximity to arguably Australia’s best-performing shopping strip, and the purchaser can enjoy a reliable cashflow while assessing its excellent long-term potential,” Talbot said.

Fitzroys recently negotiated the $16.2 million sale of 71-73 Church Street & 36 Carpenter Street reflecting a remarkably high land rate of $17,363/sqm and building rate of $16,480/sqm. The fully-leased building is home to global sportswear giant Nike, national footwear retailer Ecco, popular bakery Laurent, and office tenants White Fox and 2 Construct. It was just the 3rd property to have sold along the strip since September 2019 – and all 3 of them have sold through Fitzroys.

Fisher said Church Street, Brighton serves one of Melbourne’s most prized catchments, which has maintained a strong demographic with high disposable income and a consistently high median house price, and is home to highly sought after private schools, sporting facilities and popular beach attractions. The immediate catchment has been bolstered with the introduction of medium-density residential developments in what is broadly a low-rise suburb.

Pelligra Buys Dandenong Plaza for $145m
Private developer Pelligra has bought Dandenong Plaza for $145 million and will look to add office, residential, retail and hotel space to the 7.7ha site.

Currently, the shopping centre has 54,000sqm of floor space and includes Coles, Woolworths and Aldi supermarkets, Kmart, and Reading Cinemas among its 160 retailers.

More than 200,000 sqm can be added under a staged plan for the site and Pelligra plans to invest between $600 million and $700 million in the redevelopment.

In June, Pelligra paid around $130 million for 85 Spring Street in the Melbourne CBD, which it is expected to refurbish and maintain as offices after the 10,700sqm tower was previously earmarked for residential redevelopment by previous owners Grocon and then Golden Age Group, and then for 30,000sqm office building development by vendor Anton Capital.

Pelligra is also currently redeveloping the former Ford assembly site in Broadmeadows into a 60ha manufacturing and logistics hub.

ISPT Buys Dandenong South Site with Potential for $1b Logistics Estate
Also in the Dandenong area, ISPT has paid around $300 million for a 62.3ha landholding that could support a $1 billion logistics estate.

The site, at 265 Western Port Highway, last changed hands for $512,000 in 1985 when it was farmland. Industrial zoning was obtained in 2008 and it offers 54.5ha of gross developable area.