Cashed-up Nan Xin heads to Hawthorn for next project

The 1216-square-metre Hawthorn site at 21-27 Queens Avenue came with a development permit and 66-unit scheme designed by Rothelowman.

Savills agents Clinton Baxter, Benson Zhou and Jesse Radisich negotiated the deal but declined to discuss the particulars.

Records show the vendors Eugene and Melissa Krok bought the property for $2.83 million in 2017.

The pair bought up several Hawthorn properties in the Swinburne Uni precinct and resold at tidy profits after gaining permits.

Next door, No.19, is also for sale through Vinci Carbone agent Stephen Speck who had to pull a scheduled auction last month. The 275-square-metre building is on a 378-square-metre site and for sale at $2.4 million.

Nan Xin’s biggest deal so far has been the purchase of the old Jenkins orchard in Wantirna South in August 2018. The developer paid nearly $100 million for the 14.9 ha parcel of land.

Spit roast

The Balazo family has scored a record land price from the $2 million sale of the building which once housed their old pizzeria, Baked.

A local investor snapped up the 170 York Street property which is on a tiny 112-square-metre site across the road from the South Melbourne market.

There are two levels of fully leased office space upstairs. The old pizzeria on the ground floor is now occupied by the Spit Roast Catering Company.

CBRE agents Dylan Kilner, David Minty and Chao Zhang handled the transaction which set a new South Melbourne land rate of more than $18,000 a square metre and reflected a sharp yield of 4.5 per cent.

Brutalist offfice

While many listings and deals in the early weeks of the Covid-19 crisis went off-market, a fresh wave of listings are starting to make their way back to the public sphere.

Fitzroys agents Chris James and David Bourke have listed 1186 Toorak Road in Hartwell, a classic 1980s concrete and glass Brutalist example.

An Expressions of Interest campaign closes on June 2 .The two-level 882-square-metre office is on a corner 737-square-metre site zoned Commercial 1 and is expected to fetch at least $6 million.

It’s close to the local Leo’s Supermarket and trams and trains.

Mr James said “Vendors are taking note that there is a high level of pent-up demand for well-located property.”

Fitzroys recently sold a Mulgrave office building for $6.6 million and eight bidders competed for the Commonwealth Bank branch at Camberwell junction – it fetched $12.06 million.

New hotel

The Excelon Group is planning to build a hotel on the corner of Queensberry and Peel streets in North Melbourne, just a stone’s throw from the Queen Vic Market, the universities and the hospital precinct.

Excelon, owned by siblings Kelvin and Rachel Taing, purchased the site from developer Michael Piccolo last September through Savills, paying $5.7 million.

Excelon has a raft of other projects in the city including another in Lothian Street, North Melbourne.

The City of Melbourne this week granted a change of use to hotel from residential.

Mr Taing said they owned two other hotels but this would be the first they also operated.