Moon Dog beer maker's building hits the market
Moon Dog Brewery’s Abbotsford home is for sale.

Moon Dog beer maker's building hits the market

The freehold housing one of Melbourne’s earliest 21st century craft breweries, is on the market.

The Moon Dog Craft Brewery at 17 Duke Street is just a block away from the distinctly un-craft Carlton and United Breweries and its brew house in Abbotsford’s riverside beer-making precinct.

The 270 square metre brick building was transformed by the Moon Dog beer makers into a popular bar as well as a brewery. Their operations got so big they opened another brew house in Preston.

Teska Carson agents Matthew Feld and Michael Taylor are selling the property, which is on a 319 sq m site, with a new six-year lease to Moon Dog. The brewers pay $49,347 a year in rent.

It’s expected to fetch more than $1.5 million when it goes to auction on June 9.

Records show the vendors have owned the property for decades and it has been leased by a bevy of other users, including rag traders and panel beaters. It last transacted for $33,000 in 1974.

City office

There’s a forest of towers for sale in Melbourne’s CBD this autumn, but down in the legal precinct, there is a slightly more affordable office up for grabs.

Richard Mizgala’s Power Investment Corp is off-loading 365 Lonsdale Street, a glass fronted three-storey office held since 1986.

The 1151 sq m building is on a 415 sq m site just up the road from Myer, David Jones and Emporium.

Records show the vendor bought the property in the mid-1980s paying a then hefty $2.36 million. It’s expected to sell for around $9.5 million this time around.

Colliers agents Oliver Hay, Anthony Kirwan, Daniel Wolman and Leon Ma are handling expressions of interest which close on June 15.

Power Investment Corporation was the owner of the Richmond Malt for 10 years, paying $8.75 million for the riverside silos and famous Nylex clock sign.

The site was sold to Caydon’s Joe Russo in 2014 for $38 million and is mid-way through a transformation into a $600 million residential, hotel and commercial estate.

Caydon is now looking for a capital partner to fund and acquire the next stage, 30,000 sq m of office, a micro-brewery and a 200 room hotel.

Fitz royalty

The Fitzroy Streamline Press printing works, tucked in behind the servo and McCoppins bottleshop on Johnston Street is back on the market for at least the second time in five years.

The move comes as generational changes in property ownership and surging property prices for old commercial sites in the heart of Fitzroy.

JLL agents Josh Rutman, Tim Carr, Jesse Radisich and MingXuan Li have charge of the 2556 sq m site at 122-144 Argyle Street this time just months after they sold the neighbouring Mc Coppins site for around $18.5 million.

The former acid wash denim factory was on 1484 sq m and reportedly sold for around $12,500 a sq m to a local developer.

The Streamline Press site isn’t likely to fetch that kind of price, given the printing works site will require remediation and the property has only a driveway sized frontage to Johnston Street.

However, it is expected to fetch in the low $20 million range. It has extensive frontage to Argyle and Young streets and is a short walk from the Brunswick Street strip and a slightly longer stumble to Smith Street.

The site has Commercial 1 zoning and planning controls that will allow development up to 10 levels.

Other major transactions in the Fitzroy precinct include Piccolo’s purchase of an Australia Post distribution centre at 371-385 Gore Street for $14.27 million; and Beulah’s acquisition of 430-434 George Street for $12.2 million.

Expressions of interest close on June 9.

Early settler

The Early Settler showroom on Blackburn’s Golden Mile retail strip has sold for $12.1 million on a sharp yield of 4.04 per cent.

It was the first time to market for the huge 1775 sq m shop at 200-206 Whitehorse Road which, records show, was built in the mid-1990s.

On the corner of Ashburn Place, it’s on a large 2903 sq m site and returns just shy of $505,000 a year in rent.

The tight 4.04 per cent yield is an indicator of the strength in the large format investment market. The Freedom store down the road in Nunawading was sold last year on a 5 per cent yield.

The deal was transacted by Stonebridge Property Group agents Rorey James and Kevin Tong and Savills’ Rick Silberman.

It attracted four unconditional offers after a first round of eight bids and reflected a building rate of $6817 a sq m and a land rate of $4168 sq m.

Chemist shop

A Chemist Warehouse outlet in southeast Gippsland has sold for $3 million, setting a new benchmark yield of 4.5 per cent for regional investments.

Records show Michael Spektor’s National Retail Group has put a caveat on the chemist’s shop at 92-96 Franklin Street, Traralgon, in the heart of the Latrobe Valley.

CBRE agents Scott Hawthorne, Nathan Mufale, Alex Brierley and JJ Heng negotiated the acquisition.

It’s understood NRG beat other national chemist retailers to score the property on the corner of Seymour Street and the sharp yield for a regional investment shows just how keenly the property was pursued.

Chemist Warehouse’s lease expires in four years and there are no remaining options on the property.

“Regional locations remain high on the wishlists of local and international investors,” Hawthorne said.

The deal follows Stockland’s sale of the Traralgon Centre Plaza to Fawkner Property last year for $85 million; and the recent sale of a swag of shops at 60-70 George Street Moe for $6.2 million on a 6 per cent yield.

Meanwhile, out west in Colac, a Best & Less outlet sold before auction for $2.41 million on a 3.75 per cent yield.

Fitzroys agents Chris Kombi and Lewis Waddell sold the 804 sq m shop at 118-128 Bromfield Street.

Notting Hill

St John Ambulance has signed a 15-year lease at the Pellicano Group’s Notting Hill estate at 601 Blackburn Road.

It’s the biggest of nine new deals struck by Pellicano for its 710,000 sq m portfolio of industrial and office space across Victoria and Queensland.

The deal was struck by Lawson Real Estate agent Mark Spigelman. Annual rent on 5149 sq m of space comes to $1.02 million a year.

Pellicano boss Renato Pellicano said the group’s portfolio has a tight vacancy rate of just 0.07 per cent, the lowest since 2006.