Capital Gain

The state’s coffers will get a welcome stamp duty boost following the sale of the Supreme Court’s former offices for close to the $25 million asking price.

The building in question is a nine-level art deco pile at 436-450 Lonsdale Street, not the grander Supreme Court across the road, with its feature domed roof, on the corner of William Street.

The building is on a large 1490-square-metre site between Queen and William streets and has been empty since 2021 after expensive fire safety updates were identified. It’s no fire sale though.

Savills’ Tom O’Halloran, who negotiated the unconditional transaction with Tim Grant, Jamus Campbell and Nick Peden, said the building attracted 11 offers and 60 inspections.

There will be plenty of work to do on the site. Some of those who got an inspection report floors of empty courtrooms and compactus – the large high-density, moving shelves which store documents.

Four of the top six bids came from owner-occupiers or part owner-occupiers, which shows that buyer group is prepared to pay a premium for the right building. Some CBD buildings have recently sold for less than half their more recent transaction prices.

Sources suggest the owner-occupier who has bought the building could be a student accommodation provider. Capital Gain hopes future students don’t feel the weight of historical judgment while working on assessments.

The building was last for sale in 1992, during the recession, when the soon-to-end Kirner government put a $90 million portfolio of nine properties to the market. Not a single building sold.

It’s good to see some divergence from the early ’90s political and economic parallels. The state has actually banked cash from its recent property disposals.

Kew junction

Boutique property investor Terraplex is offloading a Kew office building it bought in 2019 for $19 million.

The two-storey office on 3756 square metres at 79-83 High Street is being pitched as a future development site, which seems sensible given the near-collapse in the suburban office market.

The building comes with a 10-level proposal drawn up by Cera Stribley for 183 apartments. The 3361-square-metre office, once occupied by builder Qanstruct, is just over half-full with all leases bound by redevelopment clauses.

LAWD agents Lukas Byrns and Henry Burbury have the listing and are quoting more than $25 million for the site.

Down the road, in the heart of Kew Junction, the James Packer-backed Orchard Piper joint venture has proposed a four-tower project for the sadly vacant Leo’s supermarket site.

Boroondara Council is taking Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny to court over the 18-storey height of the towers Orchard Piper wants to build.

Speaking of junctions, there’s another apartment development site for sale near St Kilda junction.

Auyin Property is passing on a 1051-square-metre site at 14 Alma Road, where it fought hard for a permit for a 17-storey mixed use development with 94 apartments and ground floor retail.

The site is on the corner of Nepean Highway and a block of 21 one-bedroom flats currently returns $180,000 a year.

However, the vendor, who paid $11.1 million for the building in 2020, is prepared to deliver it vacant.

Colliers agents Philip Heberling and Jozef Dickinson expect more than $12 million.

Flat out

Meanwhile, a portfolio of 11 blocks of flats built in the 1960s and ’70s are about to hit the market.

There are seven blocks available in Noble Park, three in Brunswick and one in Ascot Vale. They were built by the one family group over the past 50 to 60 years.

The portfolio involves 130 flats on separate titles with buyers able to opt for the lot, for blocks or individual offerings.

Stonebridge agents Max Warren, Dylan Kilner and Chao Zhang have the complex listing and expect about $40 million.

“Individually titled stock at this scale does not come to market often. A block held on one title gives you rent. A block held on 130 titles gives you rent plus an exit strategy on every flat,” Warren said.

Kilner said: “A private investor chasing one block in Brunswick submits into the same process as a group bidding on all 11.

“That tension is deliberate. The vendor will take whichever path clears the highest total.”

A blue-chip strip

Two auctions on the blue-chip Church Street strip in Brighton are scheduled for this month.

The double-storey, 201-square-metre Bailey Nelson outlet at 36 Church Street is back on the market after only two years, and expected to fetch between $4 million and $5 million.

The Bailey Nelson chain has a five-year lease and a five-year option on the property and pays $175,680 a year in rent.

On the same street, the Louey family – which has been selling property in Chinatown – is now offloading its 128 Church Street property after more than 45 years.

Foxy Nails has been doing manicures in the shop for 20 years, and is expected to sell for more than $1.5 million. Fitzroys agents Mark Talbot, Tom Fisher and Ben Liu have the listings.

In the north

A four-level office building that’s part of Broadmeadows train station is for sale.

Tenants in the 4252-square-metre office include Victorian Legal Aid, MacKillop Family Services, the Northern Community Legal Centre, Dorevitch Pathology, Vodafone and New Medical Imaging. They pay about $1.5 million in rent.

The vendor, an international investor, bought the Broadmeadows Super Hub at 1100 Pascoe Vale Road for $13.8 million in 2018.

Jones Real Estate’s Paul Jones and Vincent Lam are handling the campaign and expect more than $20 million.

Still in Melbourne’s north, an industrial estate on 4.6 hectares at Dream Haven Court in Epping is also up for grabs.

The estate at 2-12 Dream Haven Court and 89-93 Miller Street includes six properties covering a combined 26,019 square metres on four titles, that return $2.68 million a year.

Fitzroys’ Marco Sandrin and Brett Glassford expect the estate to sell for more than $40 million, which would reflect a yield of about 6 per cent. The vendor developed the estate in the 1990s and it now has state government activity centre zoning.

Creche care

Childcare deals continue ticking over, with two new creches selling to investors in the sector.

Stockland Estates has offloaded the Eden Academy in Clyde, south-east of Melbourne, for $9.12 million, reflecting a 5.99 per cent yield.

The new 132-place creche at 3 Merribrook Boulevard is on 3045 square metres. It has a new 20-year lease with options.

On the other side of Port Phillip Bay, a childcare centre leased to Guardian has sold for $6.01 million, a yield of 5.83 per cent.

Stonebridge agents Rorey James, Kevin Tong and Sam Chait did the deals.

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