Swansong

Sydney-based developer Fortis has made a fresh play in the Melbourne market, snapping up a Richmond showroom for $13.6 million.

The two-storey building at 550 Swan Street, in the heart of the office end of the strip, was sold by KordaMentha, acting as receivers and managers to collapsed property developer the Residence Co.

The 2758-square-metre building is on a 1660-square-metre site with Commercial 1 zoning and is close to a myriad of office projects, including Botanicca and the new Australia Post office.

Fortis, a subsidiary of boutique property investment firm the Pallas Group, is planning a new 10,000-square-metre project on the site.

Fortis has more than $570 million worth of projects in its development pipeline, including a landmark $170 million Double Bay redevelopment, an $80 million commercial building in Manly and the $320 million twin-tower Wiltshire House development in Richmond.

Originally proposed as a pure office play, the second tower in Wiltshire House has now been reconfigured to offer 50 apartments.

The deal was managed by Cushman & Wakefield’s Daniel Wolman, Hamish Burgess, and Joe Kairouz, together with JLL’s Jesse Radisich, Josh Rutman and Tim Carr.

Geelong

Aged-care developer and operator Levande has made its first play in the Melbourne market since buying Stockland’s retirement village portfolio in 2022, spending more than $20 million on an infill-site in Geelong.

The 4.71-hectare parcel of land at 140-156 Colac Road and 246-248 South Valley Road in Highton is opposite the Waurn Ponds shopping centre on the western fringe of the growing city.

Collier’s agents Chris Nanni and Ben Young said the sales campaign generated interest from local and national residential, aged care and retirement living developers.

Levande, owned by Swedish investment giant EQT, paid nearly $1 billion for Stockland’s 58 retirement villages in February 2022. It has deep pockets and is planning to build 400 to 500 independent living units each year for the next couple of years.

The company recently bought 14 properties on a 1.25-hectare parcel of land in Sydney’s Castle Hill Showgrounds precinct, where it is planning a 217-unit mid-rise village.

Also in Geelong, a Melbourne-based developer has outlaid $12 million to buy the old Flinders Peak Secondary College at 97 Hendy Street.

The school closed in 2010 after being merged with Northern Bay College. The sale price equated to $1.61 million a hectare across the 7.3-hectare site.

The transaction was handled by Gross Waddell ICR’s Danny Clark, Andrew Waddell and Glenn Ye.

Acorn

The leafy eastern suburbs rely on nurseries to keep those borders in a riot of colour, but now one of its stalwarts could be on the way out.

John Van Der Horst, the award-winning owner of the Acorn Nursery at 669-673 Canterbury Road, has put the 3035-square-metre land holding on the market.

The Acorn, which includes the busy Oaks Cafe, is offered with a short-term lease back, which should keep the annuals flowering this spring.

Records show the property changed hands in 1977 for $100,000. The nursery is near the intersection with Warrigal Road, just over the Boroondara border in the City of Whitehorse, on the corner of Beatrice Avenue and Sydenham Lane. It is near the local primary school and just a short trot to the new Union railway station.

JLL agents Mark Stafford, Jesse Radisich, Josh Rutman, and MingXuan Li are handling the campaign.

While the zoning is Neighbourhood Residential, Stafford said Whitehorse has been set a target to increase its dwellings by 79,000 by 2051.

The going rate for eastern suburban development sites of this size is around $7 million.

Glenroy

The old Glenroy Library is heading to auction, a couple of years after the Merri-bek Council community opened the new library, the Glenroy Community Hub, designed by architects DesignInc.

The open-plan, single-storey building is on a large 1831-square-metre site at 737 Pascoe Vale Road, located at the entrance to the local shopping strip and not far from the Metropolitan Ring Road. It is going to market for the first time in 54 years, with an auction scheduled for August 16.

Fitzroys’ agents Ervin Niyaz and David Bourke are handling the sales campaign and are expecting more than $3.3 million.

“This is a generational opportunity to occupy, invest, develop or re-purpose in Glenroy’s core commercial activity centre,” Niyaz said. “Not many opportunities like this come to market, particularly assets of this type being divested by a council. It could be another 50-plus years until another sizeable asset in this tightly-held activity centre is made available.”

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