Booming Collingwood Market’s Latest Deal
RF CorVal has bought the under-construction 11-storey office building at 71 Gipps Street for $75.5 million from developer Aus Finance Group in the latest Collingwood office market transaction.
Co-working brand Spaces, owned by international operator Regis, has signed a pre-commitment for 40% of the 8,600sqm building, named GCQ. Aus Finance Group and partner Alpha14 Property will deliver the project, and work is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2021.
In December, Pace Development Group sold its under-construction 11-level, 3,000sqm office building on a 510sqm block at 51 Langridge Street for $31.6 million. Nearby, Cbus is building the 154-apartment Holme tower, and Grocon has built the 13-storey Northumberland office as part of a $120 million fund-through deal with Impact Investment Group.
Clifton Hill Corner Overhaul
In neighbouring Clifton Hill, Fortis Development Group has lodged plans to build 2 towers with 23,000sqm of office space and 7,000 sqm of retail on the corner of Smith Street and Alexandra Parade, across the road from the Gasworks mixed-use redevelopment.
Fortis Development Group paid $32 million over multiple transactions to take control of 5,500sqm of land. The 7 properties include 592 to 622 Smith Street, and sites on the corner of Alexandra Parade and Reeves Street. Some the existing buildings were acquired by the state government for the East West Link tunnel, and resold when the project was scrapped. The Ashworth family owns two of the properties that will become part of the $300 million project.
Directly opposite, the Gasworks site will have 1,100 apartments, a 650-student high school, sports centre, underground parking and public space.
CostaFox Picks Up the Tea House
Michael Fox and Robert Costa’s CostaFox has bought the heritage-listed Tea House on the edge of the Melbourne's CBD for $28 million.
Constructed in the 1880s for a printer and manufacturing stationer, the Tea House was later home to the Robur Tea Company and used to store tea chests.
Opposite Crown Casino and close to the Yarra River, the 6-level, 2,948sqm Clarendon Street building was once one of the tallest buildings outside of the CBD.
CostaFox intends to refurbish the asset for office use.
Wingate Makes Moorabbin Move
Wingate has partnered with real estate investment firm Align Property Partners to buy a Moorabbin office building from Larry Kestelman for $16.65 million.
The 5-level, 5,905sqm building at 1001 Nepean Highway will be refurbished and upgraded to have an end value of around $40 million and deliver a yield of 5%.
SP Alliance, the Lendlease-led consortium undertaking the state government level crossing removal project, has leased 3,077sqm across 3 levels of the building.
The Espy Sells In $100m Deal
Australian Venue Company has purchased the leasehold of The Esplanade hotel on the St Kilda waterfront, along with seven other businesses, for $100 million from Sand Hill Road.
Other operating businesses sold as part of the deal include those of the Garden State Hotel in Flinders Lane in the CBD, The Posty, Bridge Hotel, Holliava and Richmond Club in Richmond, the Prahran Hotel and Terminus in Abbotsford.
Sand Hill Road bought the freehold of the Espy in 2017 and undertook a major overhaul, reopening the famous nightlife venue one year later.
Australian Venue Company is backed by Wall Street private equity giant KKR.
Disclosure: The weekly Fitzroys Property Wrap is for information only on transactions in the Melbourne property market. Fitzroys provides this information as a public service. We are not purporting that all sales and leases within this report were transacted by Fitzroys. Terms/Privacy © Copyright 2020 Fitzroys.