Outstanding Monash Technology Precinct Opportunity for Occupation, Development or Value-Add Investment

An outstanding mixed-use property offering the chance to occupy, develop or value-add just metres from a major Monash Freeway interchange, within the Monash Technology Precinct and next to the future Suburban Rail Loop, has come to the market.

Fitzroys’ Paul Burns and Chris James are marketing the landmark property at 88 Ricketts Road, Mount Waverley via Expressions of Interest closing Friday, 8 December at 12 noon. Expectations are of circa $20 million.

The property comprises a 1.8ha site with 2 separate buildings. The warehouse at the rear is 6,045sqm, whilst the office building at the front of the land was purpose-built in the late 1980s as the headquarters of Canon, and is 4,165sqm.

The site has a very flexible Special Use Zoning which enables a range of industrial, office and warehousing uses.

The current tenancy arrangements also provide a great deal of flexibility to the buyer. The office building is partially leased, the major tenant being BlueScope Distributions, while the rear warehouse building is mostly leased to Melbourne Unique Badminton Centre, however, this lease has a demolition clause.

The tenancy arrangements provide options for owner occupiers, staged developments and potentially to hold and enhance income.

Its location next to the Monash Freeway, near the Blackburn Road interchange, offers direct connectivity to Melbourne’s CBD, eastern suburbs and south eastern suburbs. It is well located within the Monash Technology Precinct that is home to the internationally-renowned Monash University, the CSIRO, new $564 million Victorian Heart Hospital and Australian Syncotron.

Meanwhile, stage 1 of the $50 billion future Suburban Rail Loop project will see a brand- new train station established near the property, the Loop will run through Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, from Cheltenham, to Monash, to Box Hill. Once completed, the project will

provide connectivity to Bundoora, Broadmeadows, Melbourne Airport, Sunshine and Werribee.

“The property is one of the most versatile, well-located opportunities to hit the market in 2023. The site is in arguably Melbourne’s premier suburban technology, healthcare, and e- commerce precinct, and offers unrivalled connectivity to Melbourne’s CBD, eastern suburbs and south eastern suburbs,” Burns said.

“The property offers the chance to deliver a commercial or industrial building, business park or last-mile facility at a time of huge demand for highly accessible workplace and logistics opportunities in busy urban locations.

“The ongoing e-commerce boom makes this perfectly positioned for a last-mile facility location with direct access to Melbourne’s CBD, eastern suburbs and south eastern suburbs.

“The expansive site area gives developers the flexibility to deliver a brand-new commercial building or premier business park in whole or in stages.” The area has gentrified into the preferred place to be for a vast array of major corporates and institutions, many occupying nearby major business parks including Ferntree Business Park, Axxess Corporate Park, Nexus Corporate Park, 211 Wellington Road Mulgrave, and others.

Burns said the area surrounding the property has become a preferred location for healthcare, e-commerce and technology occupiers, as well as traditional manufacturers, with the property’s excellent location reflected in the roll-call of high-profile companies and organisations in the immediate vicinity, including Monash University, CSIRO, Australia Post, Woolworths, BMW, Mazda, Toshiba, Adidas, Panasonic and Samsung.

“The Suburban Rail Loop will further mint the location’s credentials as arguably Melbourne’s best suburban technology, healthcare, and e-commerce precinct,” he said.

Burns added that the property is partly leased and some tenants have demolition clauses, allowing a great opportunity for redevelopment or for owner-occupiers to move into part or whole of one of the best-located suburban Melbourne addresses. The property’s existing configuration of 2 independent buildings provides for huge flexibility for how and when the purchaser’s plans can be enacted.

He said there is some initial income that may either be enhanced or used as holding income pending preparation for redevelopment, while the office building could be strata-titled and on-sold or upgraded and offered for lease.

He said, “There’s a number of occupiers who have or are likely to need alternative accommodation due to the Suburban Rail Loop - there has been and will be land compulsorily acquired for its construction.”

Garda Sells Hawthorn East Office Building

ASX-listed Garda Property Group has divested a Hawthorn East office building for $24.1 million.

The company acquired the 8-10 Cato Street building in March last year and undertook a major modernisation and refurbishment program. It is currently 33% occupied and is now owned by Minsmere.

In recent months, Garda also agreed to sell 2 buildings within the Botanicca precinct in Richmond for $80 million to Sentinel. The fully leased Botanicca 7 building sold with a 3.8-year weighted average lease expiry (WALE), while Botanicca 9 is 73% occupied and has a WALE of 5.3 years.