3 days Ago By Nicole Lindsay
Mirvac has erased all signs of the ANZ Bank’s former flagship branch at the Paris End of Collins Street with the completion of its $25 million new Collins Place lobby. The old tellers’ drawers, counters and vaults have been replaced by end-of-trip facilities, a new lobby and the Commons co-working space in the mezzanine at the foot of 55 Collins Street. The ANZ Bank moved around the corner two years ago after 40-plus years as the tower’s anchor ground floor tenant.
Mirvac’s refurbishment is part of a $100 million-plus renewal project at the address, where 22 levels of the 47-floor tower have been renovated, as well as the dining areas and the squash courts. While the Collins Place freehold is owned by Charter Hall, the towers’ leasehold is managed by Mirvac’s $6 billion Wholesale Office Fund. “With the latest office research indicating Melbourne’s CBD office vacancy rate has stabilised, we are repositioning assets to meet this demand,” MWOF fund manager Kit Georgeos said.
More than 21,000 square metres has been leased and re-leased since last year, including BDO at 35 Collins Street, Salesforce at 55 Collins and Blackbird Bar, Dining & Events. “Future proofing our assets is a key focus for MWOF, and these works begin the electrification journey for 55 Collins Street,” Georgeos said. Former agent turned investment manager Mark Wizel is making a play for the unloved suburban office market, paying $16.
45 million for a mostly vacant Glen Iris office held by the late Nathan Werdiger’s Juilliard Group. More recent valuations, before high vacancies cruelled the market, were reportedly around $31 million. The deal was done with Wizel’s long-time investment partner, the Mai Group and his new joint venture, Clover Property Partners, set up with former Quintessential operatives Xavier Everett and Rob Buchanan.
The 3800 sq m property at 1601 Malvern Road was mostly vacant when the transaction settled in March and Wizel has set up an in-house leasing team to find new tenants. The current tenant is workwear retailer RSEA. It once housed the headquarters of Swiss watch retailer Swatch and was bought by the Werdiger family in 2004 for $6.
5 million on a 10.15 per cent yield. It’s on a large 2700 sq m corner block near Glen Iris station.
“There is little doubt there is significant risk associated with the asset due to the high level of vacancy, but we have a plan to reposition it beyond traditional offices,” Wizel said. Colliers’ Scott Orchard acted for the vendor while Gorman Commercial’s Peter Bremner acted for the Wizel team in the off-market deal. “I estimated the land value itself to be worth more than what we paid for the overall asset,” Wizel said, indicating there is the potential for redevelopment.
Over the river in East Hawthorn, a brand new four-storey office at 26-28 Hall Street is up for sale at more than $18 million. The recently completed Hall St Hub is 80 per cent leased to a range of tenants, including NYSE-listed insurance company Assurant (formerly Fortis). Colliers’ Orchard, Ben Baines, and Alex Browne are handling the listing.
German sportswear retailer and manufacturer Puma has offloaded the Moorabbin warehouse and popular outlet store where it has sold runners and other gear for the last 45 years. Records show Puma bought the 9940 sq m site at 111 Keys Road in 1979, paying $800,000. Developer Wingspan Capital put a caveat over the property at the end of March and is expected to redevelop the property after Puma moves out in 2026.
It’s understood the property sold in the high teens, a little shy of the $20 million asking price. CBRE’s David Aiello, Sasan Misaghian, Patrick Noone, and Andrew Bell ran the expressions of interest campaign but declined to comment on the price. The deal indicates a shift in the market with developers increasingly moving on infill sites and beating owner occupiers and investors.
In East Bentleigh, Moose Toys’ original headquarters, where the Shopkins and other whacky toys got their start, settled last month for $7.15 million. The developer buyers have renovated the 3537 sq m office-warehouse ahead of re-leasing.
The 7-13 Adena Court property was on a 4051 sq m site off East Boundary Road. Cameron’s David Johnson and Michael Brennan and Teska Carson’s Michael Taylor and Matthew Feld did the deal. The second Barwon River development site to hit the market in a month is up for sale.
Zoned mixed-use, the former dairy at 30 Bloomsbury Street is on 2.79 hectares with its 1950s-era industrial buildings still leased to tenants. Colliers Ben Young and Chris Nanni have the listing.
Local property sources suggest the property, which has 210 metres of river frontage could be worth around $15 million. That’s about half of what its neighbour at 403 Pakington Street is expected to fetch but it has planning approval for 314 apartments and 29 townhouses. It’s busy on the Barwon.
Glengarry Developments’ Wayne Jennings has received planning approval for his $90 million development at the old Collins Woollen Mills at 510A LaTrobe Boulevard. Developers Peter Spargo and John Gibson have sold a 7-Eleven at 181 O’Herns Road in Epping for $13.1 million on a sharp yield of 5.
63 per cent. The petrol station, on a 5624 sq m corner of Edgars Road, has long 12 and 13-year leases to 7-Eleven, Starbucks and Oporto, pulling in $737,618 a year. The deal was negotiated by Jones Real Estate’s Tim Spargo and Paul Jones, and Stonebridge’s Rorey James and Kevin Tong.
Spargo said the campaign attracted seven bids from a mix of local and offshore investors. The 1948 sq m lot next door sold for $2.5 million to an Adelaide buyer planning to build a car and truck wash facility.
In an off-market deal struck in Mambourin, near Werribee, the Oreana Group has sold a 7-Eleven on a 2026 sq m parcel of land at 2 Rail Circuit for $6 million, reflecting a yield of 6 per cent. Allard Shelton’s Bill Makris handled the transaction. Next week, an OTR servo at 181-187 Pascoe Vale Road, Moonee Ponds, will go to auction as part of the Burgess Rawson portfolio auction.
Raoul Holderhead is taking enquiries. The servo’s vendor is the Shahin family, who sold the OTR chain to Viva for $1.15 billion in 2023.
The mixed convenience store-petrol station returns $481,734 a year in rent. If the yields achieved in the other servos hold up, that puts the likely price around $8 million..
