CBD Fringe Development Site Sells
The West Melbourne site incorporating the Sands and McDougall manufactory, slated for a hotel and office tower, is likely to be developed in separate parts after a portion sold for $9.5 million to a local buyer.
Joint owners, Resimax Property Group owner Aziz “Ozzie” Kheir, Probuild founder Phil Mehrten and developer Frank Palazzo, obtained planning permits last year for a 23-level, 190-room hotel and office complex for the entirety of the combined 102-108 Jeffcott Street and 355-369 Spencer Street site in West Melbourne, which has heritage listing.
The vacant Jeffcott Street portion has a 2-storey circa-1914 brick warehouse on a 920sqm site with a hipped roof and double-gabled façade, and has sold individually after the entire site was offered for sale. It is likely to be used for an apartment development.
The former Sands and McDougall factory building on Spencer Street would have been converted into offices under the approved plans, and the Jeffcott Street warehouse partially demolished.
Richmond Triple Treat
Melbourne’s city fringe office hub of Richmond and Cremorne continues to attract tenants, from major names in tech to smaller businesses working from home office-style premises.
Fitzroys Agency Executive Lewis Waddell has fully leased a mixed-use home office and retail building in the popular location to new tenants bridal studio By Kinsman, Steve Domoney Architecture, and fitness centre The Gym.
Three 3-level home offices of 180sqm at 420 Church Street, Richmond were leased for $55,000pa gross each, on a mix of 2 and 3-year initial lease terms with options.
Waddell said that despite uncertainties created by COVID-19, the last 2 remaining home offices were leased at the beginning of the month.
He said tenants were attracted to the recently updated, modern building’s high quality, prized city views and a terrace balcony, and its prime positioning in the heart of the Cremorne and Richmond activity zone, just metres from the Swan Street retail and lifestyle precinct.
“The architecture firm was renting an apartment and an office in Melbourne and is now able to do both due to the layout of these properties. Each has a large ground floor space that can be used as an open-plan office, personal training space or bridal studio, in these cases,” Waddell said.
“While headlines around the Richmond and Cremorne office market are dominated by high- profile companies such as Seek, Tesla, Disney, MYOB, Domain and Carsales, smaller businesses have also rushed to take up boutique and individual offices in the area.”
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.