The unprecedented development boom in Moonee Ponds has attracted huge investment interest for retail and commercial property in the famous Puckle Street shopping strip, with the latest sale of a primely positioned freehold more than 75 years in the making.
Fitzroys agents David Bourke and Terence Yeh sold 57 Puckle Street, in the absolute prime section of the strip, in conjunction with Richard Seeley and Susie Mason of Barry & Matthew Iles on behalf of private owners.
Bourke said multiple bidders competed for the quality two-storey building, which sold for $1.54 million under the hammer at a sharp 3.25% yield to a local investor who will look to value-add in the future.
The building is occupied by global telecommunications company Vodafone on a long-term deal.
Located within the epicentre of Moonee Ponds building boom, the property is on a well-configured parcel of 237sqm with an invaluable Activity Centre zoning that provides strong future value-add potential.
“After more than 75 years of ownership, the vendors recognised the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented by the remarkable growth prospects of Moonee Ponds to put their asset to the market, with investors and landbankers harbouring a huge appetite for well-located Melbourne retail strip properties with strong lease covenants and attractive growth prospects,” Yeh said.
The property is surrounded by national tenants including Woolworths, Coles, Kmart, Aldi, Westpac, ANZ, Sportscraft, Sussan and Witchery, while Puckle Street is serviced by all modes of public transport, including Moonee Ponds train station, and multiple bus routes and a recently upgraded tram stop at Moonee Ponds Junction,
Mason said, “the campaign generated enquiry from local and offshore investors and landbankers, attracted by the massive pipeline of residential and commercial projects that are reshaping the inner north-west, and transforming Moonee Ponds into an inner-city hub”.
“Investors, landbankers and businesses are consistently displaying confidence in Puckle Street, which offers some of the best long-term prospects of any of Melbourne’s iconic shopping strips.”
More than 1,600 apartments within the Moonee Ponds Activity Centre are in various stages of planning and development. These include the Mason Square development on the former Moonee Ponds market site of 1.34 hectares, while the future $2 billion overhaul of the nearby Moonee Valley Racecourse will include multiple residential and commercial buildings and bring a further 2,000 dwellings and a further boost to the local worker population in the coming years.
“Much of Melbourne’s nation leading population growth is centred around its retail strips, and the strong development pipeline around Puckle Street has established an exciting growth path and boosted its future trading prospects,” Bourke said.
Fitzroys recently sold the two-level 85 Puckle Street building for $2.285 million to a China-based investor following an auction that generated 118 bids, as well as 127 Puckle Street for $1.35 million to a dental clinic after the property was offered to the market for the first time in 31 years.