Development Sites In SeasonA prized St Kilda island site spanning 1,370sqm on busy St Kilda Road has been snapped up for $7.9 million as the suburb continues along the regeneration path.
Fitzroys’ Mark Talbot and Shawn Luo, together with Gross Waddell ICR, sold the high-profile property at 344-360 St Kilda Road on behalf of an owner who accumulated the site over multiple transactions.
Talbot said the purchaser, a local developer, intends to utilise the site’s existing permit for a premium 6-storey mixed-use development, with a net saleable area of 4,743sqm and residences designed for the growing downsizer and owner occupier segments of the market.
The site currently comprises a high-profile single-level showroom and office generating significant holding income from tenants Tradelink and SMR Advertising, and traded on a sharp 2.4% yield.
“The market recognised this site as the largest development opportunity in the suburb for some time, with nearly 200 enquiries received from enthusiastic parties,” Talbot said.
The site is ideally positioned close to hospitality and lifestyle precincts including St Kilda beach, Fitzroy and Acland Streets, Albert Park, Carlisle Street, and Chapel Street.
“The huge enquiry and a result that exceeded expectations reflects confidence in the inner bayside market,” Talbot said.
“St Kilda is undergoing a path of regeneration and a experiencing somewhat of a demographic shift. There’s a host of residential, retail and commercial projects that promise to bring a new vibrancy to a famous Melbourne location.” House prices in St Kilda West have been rising, and Gurner’s sold-out, ultra-luxe Saint Moritz apartment project is under construction on the former Novotel site. Meanwhile, the $30 million Victorian Pride Centre is set to open on nearby Fitzroy Street, which will also welcome boutique hotels, again by Gurner on the former Cushion Lounge site, and Erdigroup’s QT on the Rydges site. The Prince of Wales Hotel is currently being refurbished and The Esplanade has just reopened.
It is also where 7-15 Fitzroy Street has just sold for around $18 million, to a buyer who intends to hold the property as-is for the time being. Owned by the Warshauer family for several decades, the property includes a block of 10 Art Deco flats and the St LuJa cocktail bar. Combined, the 1,335sqm site has 5 shops 14 apartments that return $659,400pa.
In neighbouring Balaclava, a row of warehouses at 6-10 William Street on a 1,158sqm site sold for $5.35 million to buyer planning a mixed-use building, while an offshore developer paid $12.2 million for the 2,295sqm site at 7-9 Halifax Street, Brighton, which has a permit for 16 apartments.
On the other side of the city, a local private developer bought the 7,425sqm 30-40 Flockhart Street property in Abbotsford for around $14 million. The site backs onto the Yarra River and currently has a 2-level office building that was previously occupied by vitamins company Swisse and now has a number of upcoming vacancies.
Fitzroys’ Ervin Niyaz and Chris Kombi have also just sold a Commercial 1-zoned 439sqm triple-fronted corner site at 700 High Street, Thornbury to a local developer with preliminary plans to build a mixed-use development with apartments and ground-floor retail in the popular hospitality and lifestyle hub.
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.