Weekly Wrap

Fitzroys Weekly Wrap - 12th June 2020

Posted on 12th June 2020

427 High Street, Preston
A local investor bought the 132sqm shop on a 272sqm site for $1.875 million, at a building rate of $14,200/sqm. International retailer Godfreys occupies the property, bringing $85,489pa plus outgoings and GST.

120 Cotham Road, Kew
A local investor bought the vacant 75sqm shop for $730,000.

107 Grey Street, St Kilda
A mother and daughter team that has run cafés in London leased the 146sqm space for new venture Mrs Hyde Café. They signed a 4-year lease with 3 x 5-year options at around $515/sqm.

230-236 Bank Street, South Melbourne
Bridal wear retailers Grace Loves Lace and The Bridal Atelier each leased 135sqm showroom and office spaces, and software design firm Ignition Immersive a 512sqm studio. The 3 neighbouring buildings recently underwent refurbishments and extensions. Net rents were $500 and $410/sqm for the different spaces.

99 Glenferrie Road, Malvern
Hospitality operators with several outlets around Melbourne leased the 214sqm fitted restaurant space for 5-years with an option at $75,000pa. They will open Assaggi Italiani, serving a similar offering to previous tenant Assaggi Restaurant.

122 Chapel Street, St Kilda
The 1,050sqm former factory building sold for $4.4 million to a local buyer who intends to value-add and then part occupy in the future. Zoned Mixed Use, the 675sqm site has multiple tenancies expiring September 2022, and returns $175,000pa.

2-4 Vale Street, St Kilda
The Lawrence family sold the vacant 955sqm office and warehouse building for $3.1 million to Hillsyde Nominees, which is planning to overhaul the interior. The building is on a 585sqm site and was previously tenanted by charity St Kilda Mums, which moved to Clayton.

25 Burwood Road, Hawthorn
Higher education management consultancy Wells Advisory leased the recently refurbished 300sqm ground floor space for 3.5 years at $139,377pa gross.

15-15a First Avenue, Sunshine
Zoned Industrial 1, the 830sqm warehouse on a 2,022sqm site sold for $1.09 million.

45 Normanby Road, Notting Hill
The vacant 360sqm office and warehouse with 6 parking spaces sold for $920,000.

568-570 Canterbury Road, Vermont
Pallet manufacturer Palletts and Skids signed a 3-year lease for the unimproved site of almost 2,000sqm at $38,000pa.

25 William Street, Balaclava
The 2-level 564sqm converted warehouse, home to functions and events venue Red Scooter, sold for $2.16 million at a 3.8% yield. The building is on a 333sqm corner site and is leased for 3 years with options.

497 Whitehorse Road, Balwyn
Two specialist gastroenterologists signed a 3-year lease plus options at $75,000pa net to set up a new private practice from the 245sqm building, which has 9 consulting rooms.

F45 Powers Onto Toorak Road
Global fitness company F45 Training has secured a new Melbourne site in South Yarra, choosing to remain in the growing and increasingly vibrant commercial market that is positioning itself as a future city-fringe working and lifestyle hub.

Fitzroys Manager - Office Leasing, Samuel Friend negotiated the secure 5-year lease with a 5-year option for the 470sqm space at $425 per sqm with 3.5% annual increases.

Located in the heart of South Yarra and flooded with natural light from all 4 sides of the building, the space was offered with a full fit-out that included a dedicated reception and waiting area, multiple offices, board room and meeting rooms and open plan working areas.

Friend said this was a very rare opportunity to occupy a full-floor commercial space of this size and calibre in South Yarra.

He said F45 had been looking to remain in South Yarra. While F45 are moving out of their current site on nearby Yarra Street, which is being turned into a new residential apartment building - typical for the Forest Hill precinct that has become one of Australia’s highest-density residential precincts - the group was also on the expansion path.

“The space is 30% larger than their current space, allowing for more members as they are working at capacity. They will also be able to capitalise on a position just metres from the Forest Hill precinct,” Friend said.

“Businesses are wanting to attract and retain talent in the up-and-coming generation of workers. As Melburnians seek to live, work and play in greater numbers around the city fringe, accessibility and connectivity are placed at a higher premium, as are locations near quality dining, shopping and recreational options such as gyms, fitness centres and wellness centres.”

Friend said the campaign and the leasing deal represented another vote of confidence in the direction of the South Yarra office market, which is positioning itself as a future city-fringe office hub attracting young professionals and quality, energetic businesses.

“We had over 15 qualified enquiries, mostly from groups based in the local Stonnington area either looking for a larger premises, or to move closer to Toorak Road and South Yarra station.”

The property offers direct ground floor access right on Toorak Road, has 5 on-site parking spaces, and is just 100 metres from busy South Yarra station and accessed by multiple tram routes along Toorak Road and Chapel Street, including a tram stop at its doorstep.

“F45 isn’t able to operate its gyms currently due to lockdown restrictions, but has taken a longer-term view of their operations and the South Yarra market and sought a long-term deal,” Friend said, adding that this was an approach that was taken more broadly.

“All interested groups made it clear they preferred minimum terms of 4 to 5 years with options.”

Friend said there are big-name tenants actively looking for space in the market, and who will continue to pursue their requirements amid the current environment. F45 made enquiries for other quality South Yarra commercial spaces, including Level 1 of the 60 Wilson Street building that Fitzroys has just leased to global entrepreneurial publication and media company Foundr Magazine for its new headquarters.

Fitzroys also recently leased offices at 6 Bond Street to popular bottled kombucha label Remedy Drinks, another interested party in the 60 Wilson Street space.

Sydney Investor Buys Neighbourhood Shopping Centre Coburg Hill
A Sydney investor and their overseas partner have bought Woolworths-anchored Coburg Hill neighbourhood shopping centre for $21.3 million, at a 6% passing yield, from APN Property Group.

The 4,419sqm ground-level, strata-titled asset at 153-157 Elizabeth Street, Coburg North has 10 privately-owned apartments above it.

As well as Woolworths, Coburg Hill is leased to 7 specialty stores, including café Degani, Regency Pharmacy and Jetts Fitness, and returns $1.28 million per annum. It has a weighted average lease expiry of 11 years, with 14 years remaining on the Woolworths lease.


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.