Weekly Wrap

Fitzroys Weekly Wrap - 25th October 2019

Posted on 25th October 2019

1R, 3 Freshwater Place, Southbank
At the base of the Freshwater Place complex, the 2-level retail premises of 509sqm with an additional 103sqm space sold for $6,532,500. It is leased to TGI Fridays and brings $354,122.47pa.

76-78 Doncaster Road, Balwyn North
A local investor bought the 377sqm ground floor shop for $3.6 million at a 5.05% yield, with a new 10+10+!0-year lease to Balwyn Asian Supermarket.

96-98 Bluff Road, Black Rock
The 2-level building of 378sqm sold for $1.875 million. On a 409sqm site zoned Mixed Use, with a 12.19m frontage and 4 parking spaces, it has a new 5-year lease returning $83,685pa plus outgoings and GST.

21 Flemington Road, North Melbourne
A local investor paid $1.6 million at a 4.37% yield for the ground floor space, leased to property group Ironfish for 3 years with options.

208 Glenferrie Road, Malvern
The vacant 110sqm shop sold for $1.425 million and is on a 178sqm site zoned Commercial 1.

610 Canterbury Road, Vermont
The 380sqm site sold for $901,000, with a lease to Westminster Christmas in the retail space and a vacant dwelling/office space at the rear.

662 Burke Road, Camberwell
Sumo Sushi Grill leased the 314sqm shop for 5 years at $165,000pa net plus outgoings and GST.

50 Lorimer Street, Docklands
The 200sqm showroom on the corner of Montague St, owned by Nick Theodossi of Nick Theodossi Prestige Cars, was leased for $92,000pa plus GST.

589-599 Hampton Street, Hampton
Kids Tudor and Cotton Property Group leased two shops on 6-year terms, each at $20,000pa.

Suite 10, 1 Milton Parade, Malvern
An investor paid $1.061 million for the vacant 170sqm office suite, which is adjacent to a Citylink interchange.

187 Johnston Street, Collingwood
Digital marketers Tailor Group leased 240sqm in the newly-renovated building for 5 years at $60,000pa net.

80 Collins Street, Melbourne
Law firm Herbert Smith Freehills signed a 12-year lease over 10,300sqm within the South Tower of the commercial development, which Dexus bought for nearly $1.5 billion earlier this year.

Suite 3, 261-271 Wattletree Road, Malvern
Not-for-profit group Noah’s Ark leased the 351sqm office for 5 years plus options at $584/sqm gross.

Unit 9, 286-288 Maroondah Highway, Chirnside Park
The 850sqm warehouse, with a new 5-year lease to Ace Space Children’s Play Centre, sold for $1.675 million at a 7% passing yield.

52 and 54 Paraweena Drive, Truganina
Basa Constructions sold the two sites off the plan. Aries Rail bought number 52 for $1.1 million and a private investor paid $1 million for number 54.

580-600 Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne
Two units in The Bund business park were leased to Pipecore Industries and CADwalk International respectively, at between $190 and $200/sqm.

705 Mountain Highway, Bayswater
A local investor and developer bought the 1,398sqm Mixed Use site for $3.91 million. It currently has a 566sqm office and showroom building and a development height potential of 7 storeys.

289 Grange Road, Ormond
Zoned Residential 1, the cleared 1,040sqm site sold to a local developer for $2.2 million.

Cult Hungarian Patisserie Lands in Hawthorn
Kurtosh is the latest Sydney eatery to expand into Melbourne, attracted to the city’s vibrant hospitality culture and nation-topping retail spending, in a move that will further enhance Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn’s reputation as one of Melbourne’s most vibrant retail strips.

Fitzroys Associate Director Chris James negotiated the lease of the 112sqm space within the landmark Lido Cinemas complex at $85,000 per annum net.

He said the straight 10-year lease signed by Kurtosh highlighted the faith retailers have in the area, and in the cinema complex’s positioning on the popular shopping strip.

Kurtosh is known for its kürtőskalács - spiral Hungarian pastries also known as chimney cakes, and a range of other cakes and pastries. The patisserie has just opened its fourth Sydney location at the new Darling Square precinct in Haymarket.

James said securing a quality operator for the space, located at the rear of the Lido Cinemas, opposite Vapparetto and fronting onto the rear car park, would further activate the cinema complex, which has been a strong performer since reopening four years ago.

“The space attracted enquiry from a number of hospitality operators looking to take advantage of the huge growth prospects and position within one of Melbourne’s most vibrant shopping strips, and most prized catchments,” he said.

“Swinburne University provides a constant flow of pedestrian traffic, underpinning trade for a number cafés and eateries, and through all hours given the growing student accommodation beds in the precinct.

“The strong catchment is enhanced by its position within affluent popular leafy inner-eastern suburbs, amongst Kew and Camberwell, and a number of prestigious schools and that also bring further activity to the area, helped further by a range of public transport options.”


Kurtosh is the latest Sydney-based food and beverage operator to look to Melbourne for their expansion plans, James said, given the city’s nation-leading retail spend.

James leased a space in nearby inner-eastern suburb Camberwell to iconic chicken and burger business Chargrill Charlie’s, which opened recently for its Melbourne debut, as did late-night pork eatery Mr Crackles on Bourke Street in the CBD. Mary’s Burgers has just announced it will open its first Melbourne location early in November.

Melbourne and Victoria are now in number one position as the highest retail spenders in Australia, replacing Sydney and New South Wales, according to CommSec’s latest State of the States report.

Within the Lido complex, James has leased space to quality coffee operator Axil Coffee Roasters, and Kurtosh will also join Huxtaburger, frozen yoghurt group Yo-Chi and Venetian bar and restaurant Vaporetto within the building.

The Lido building opened as the Glenferrie Theatre in 1912 and was renamed Palais de Danse in 1927, before operating as the New Glen Picture Theatre until 1956. From 1960 it was used a dance school, pool hall and cabaret theatre until closure in the middle of last decade. After 10 years sitting idle it was revitalised and reopened in June 2015, with the cinemas on the top floor, and food and beverage operators through the arcade and lower floor adding to the strip’s unique offering.

Hotel Francis
Malaysian developer Aikbee Group has bought the 3-storey art deco Hotel Francis building in the CBD for $13.75 million.

The 383-387 Lonsdale Street building is on a 444sqm site on the corner of Niagara Lane, and has traded as Club Retro and the Niagara Hotel since its acquisition by vendors Gobalakrishnan and Usha Subramaniam for $5.85 million in 2011. They bought a 59sqm laneway last year next to the property for $600,000 that was included in the offering.


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 2019 Fitzroys.