Church Street, Brighton Set for 1st Retail Auction Since COVID
Church Street, Brighton, widely regarded as Melbourne’s - and Australia’s - most prized shopping strip, is set for its 1st auction of a prime retail investment since COVID-19.
Fitzroys’ Mark Talbot and Tom Fisher are marketing 13 Church Street, recently leased to international retailer Oroton. The executor’s auction takes place on Thursday, 27 May at 1pm. The property was originally built by the owners some 60 years ago.
It is being offered with a long lease to Oroton Group, which has 49 stores across Australia and in Asia, returning $175,100 per annum plus outgoings and GST as of 1 July.
The new ultra-modern and immaculate open-plan fit-out features remarkable utilisation of window exposure and the property’s wide 7.9m frontage.
“This is genuine generational chance to secure a retail investment in the absolute prime of a blue-ribbon shopping strip,” Talbot said.
“Well-located bricks and mortar assets with secure leases have become more highly sought-after during the COVID period, and in the ultra-low interest rate environment that the Reserve Bank has flagged will remain for some time.
“The prime of Church Street, Brighton is among the most secure locations to invest in Melbourne retail and commercial property.”
Talbot noted there has been very few high-quality, well-located properties within Melbourne’s shopping strips offered for sale during the COVID period, and none in Church Street. He was responsible for the last auction sale on the strip, which saw the NAB branch at 35 Church Street sell in September 2019 for $6.105 million, at a sharp 3.5% yield.
Local and offshore enquiry is again expected during this campaign, with Australia’s safe- haven status having been enhanced during its relative success in handling COVID-19.
Talbot said astute land bankers would also note the 256sqm site’s long-term development potential and attractive site dimensions.
Fisher said Melbourne’s shopping strips have demonstrated their resilience over the past 12 months, and none more so than Church Street, Brighton.
“Church Street, Brighton consistently presents the strongest fundamentals for retail property investments, retaining its reputation as Melbourne’s best-performing suburban retail strip, and perhaps Australia’s.
“The strip has continued to perform strongly during the COVID period, given its tightly-held nature, excellent tenancy mix, constrained supply, and positioning within one of Melbourne’s most affluent and established consumer catchments. There remains a long queue of retailers and operators seeking space in Church Street.”
The property is positioned within the most highly sought-after and tightly-held section of Church Street, between Carpenter and St Andrews Streets. It is located opposite the famous Dendy cinema complex, and amongst other leading retailers including Scanlan Theodore, Country Road, Husk, Sportscraft, Saba, Flanel, Seed, major banks, and local traders such as The Pantry.
South Yarra Square Set for Revamp
Melbourne-based developer Oreana Property Group has bought South Yarra Square, close to South Yarra train station, for around $35 million with plans to transform the retail and office complex into a new luxury hotel and wellness centre.
The strata-titled property at 177 Toorak Road comprises a 5-level building on a 1,853sqm site with a piazza fronting Toorak Road, and with retail and food and beverage space on the ground floor and office space above. Passing net annual income is about $600,000.
South Yarra Square was strata-titled in 1996 and sold down to individual owners 2 years later. The new sale required agreement from the 11 lot owners.
The transformation joins other major projects in the area including the redevelopment of the Jam Factory by Newmark Capital, Tim Gurner and Qualitas, a new office tower being developed by Goldfields at 627 Chapel Street, while US build-to-rent group Greystar owns the adjoining 14-16 Yarra Street and 35-41 Claremont Street sites nearby.
Epping Evolution Continues
A 252ha sheep and cattle farm known as Hendon Park in fast-evolving Epping will be redeveloped into a $500 million logistics estate.
The 25 Vearings Lane property has been acquired by Sandhurst Capital and will be developed by Sandhurst Retail and Logistics. Around 100ha of the land has been rezoned for industrial use, and the rest will be set aside as a nature reserve.
Lots and built-form packages ranging from 10,000sqm to 75,000sqm will form the 1st stage of the estate.
The 3rd-generation family owners have run sheep and cattle on the farm for the past 55 years.
In recent weeks, Genesis Property paid $9.1 million for the 1.63ha infill site at 142-150 Cooper Street, which currently has 2 warehouses and is zoned Activity Centre. It opposite the Pacific Epping Shopping Centre and Northern Hospital, and close to a former Bunnings site that was owned by German hypermarket Kaufland and recently acquired by large-format retail centre owner Aventus.
The Victorian government recently rezoned land on the opposite side of Cooper Street that allowed for Riverlee’s $2 billion mixed use redevelopment of Epping Quarry.
At 410 Cooper Street, Frasers Property Industrial is developing a new industrial estate that includes Mazda’s new $69 million national parts and distribution centre.
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 2021 Fitzroys.