New Collins Street office tower under development
The Hains family is planning a new 10-level office building behind heritage-listed Portland House, at the Paris end of Collins Street.
A proposal to demolish the modern additions at the rear of 8 Collins and build a tower with two basement levels was submitted to the City of Melbourne last week.
Stephen Hains, who heads the family-owned wealth fund Portland House, said “the entire building [the original 1874 house] is to be faithfully preserved and renovated.”
“The original windows on Collins Street and the wrought iron street front fence are to be reinstated – similar to the Melbourne Club,” Hains said.
“All the late 20th century additions are to be removed, including the entire single-level 1960s office addition at the rear, and replaced with a new eight-level office building.”
The three-storey building is one of few townhouses remaining in the CBD. It was built as a residence and doctor’s surgery by Henry “Money” Miller for his daughter Jane and her husband, Dr Aubrey Brown.
Portland Properties bought the building in the mid-1960s for $170,000, transferring it to a related party in 2010 for $8.75 million.
The Portland House Group was established in 1959 by Hains’ father David Hains, who died in January, aged 92.
New Aldi sale
In the transaction desert of 2023, cheaper strata-property deals have been an oasis.
A new Aldi in West Melbourne has fetched $14.41 million on a yield of 5.47 per cent.
MPG Funds Management bought the 1595 sq m supermarket, which is on the ground level of the Marker building at 512 Spencer Street. It comes with a 14-year lease.
The deal was negotiated by Colliers’ Tim McIntosh and Stonebridge Property’s Justin Dowers, Rorey James and Kevin Tong.
MPG Funds Management’s Brett Gorman said despite interest-rate uncertainty, “we will continue to seek to purchase quality properties with strong fundamentals, such as this Aldi West Melbourne.”
Earlier in the year, an investor paid $17.5 million for a Coles supermarket at R. Corp’s new residential 31-level development in Fishermans Bend. The 2345 sq m supermarket and bottle shop are at the foot of the 456-unit R.Iconic tower, at 263 Normanby Road.
Fitzroys’ Chris Kombi, Chris James and Ben Liu sold the property, which reflected a yield of about 5 per cent.
South Melbourne
A development site near the Shrine of Remembrance has been snapped up by Time & Place developer Tim Price for around its asking price of $15 million.
A caveat on the title for 19-23 Dorcas Street shows Middleton Lane Land, a company controlled by Price, purchased the 896 square metre site, including a row of three houses used as offices.
The property is next door to the $160 million Middleton Lane project proposed by Time & Place and V-Leader, at Nos. 11-17.
The deal was transacted by Tiga’s Martin Leong, Griffin Barrett and David Sia, who declined to comment.
The Tiga team is marketing another South Melbourne development site, at 120-132 Ferrars Street. That corner 1226 sq m site is in the Montague precinct, near several build-to-rent projects, and is also expected to fetch about $15 million.
Around the corner, at 96-100 Tope Street, an owner-occupier has purchased a two-level office building for $4.15 million.
Records show Peter Hanscomb, the boss of Sydney-based real estate agency Belle Property, has a caveat over the building.
Lemon Baxter agents Chris Chartres and Paul O’Sullivan handled the deal. The 774 sq m building is on 388 sq m of land, with eight car parks.
Meanwhile, at the other end of Dorcas Street, an investor paid $3.35 million at auction for Football Victoria’s old headquarters at numbers 236-238.
Two bidders competed for the property, which sold for just above its $3.2 million reserve.
The three-level 478 sq m building, leased by the Australian Film Institute until 2025, is on a 233 sq m piece of land.
Gross Waddell ICR agents Andrew Greenway and Michael Gross handled the auction, but declined to comment.
Football Victoria has declared it will spend some of the money on completing a pitch at its new State Football Centre at La Trobe University. The remainder is to go into a future fund.
Ballarat retail
The JB Hi-Fi in Ballarat has changed hands for a bumper $8.15 million, reflecting a 5.2 per cent yield.
A caveat placed on the 24 Mair Street property indicates the buyer is Ballarat local Lorenzo Nigro.
The vendors bought the property in 2018 for $4.7 million.
The site is in the retail heart of Ballarat’s CBD, next door to Big W, Dan Murphys, Kathmandu and The Good Guys.
The 1500 sq m shop is on a 2744 sq m land parcel. It recently underwent a $3 million revamp, and JB Hi-Fi has signed a fresh six-year lease, until 2028.
The deal was negotiated by Stonebridge’s Rorey James and Kevin Tong.
City fringe
A private education provider has snapped up a fringe office building in West Melbourne for $6.27 million, on a skinny 1.72 per cent yield.
The empty building at 120 Miller Street was previously occupied by listed media company iSentia, formerly known as Media Monitors, which had operated on the street for decades.
Records show the vendor was associated with property investor Robert Jeffress, whose family owned Media Monitors between 1993 and 2010, before it was sold to Quadrant Private Equity for $200 million.
The off-market deal was negotiated by Cushman & Wakefield’s Anthony Kirwan and Alexander Leggo.
The three-storey 1317 sqm building is expected to become an international college for about 300 students, as early as February 2024.
It is on a 693 sq m site with parking for 21 cars, bikes, a loading bay and end-of-trip facilities.
Kirwan said it was the college’s first purchase in Melbourne, where it has been leasing space.
Munro leased
Stage two of the Queen Victoria Market Munro development has been leased, with Mansae Korean BBQ taking just over half of the 600 sq m space.
The BBQ outlet is moving from smaller digs nearby, and will also open a Japanese ramen bar, Kombu.
Preston Market-based Publique Bakery is also moving into the space, along with Japanese café Operator San, in deals struck by Colliers’s Stacey Gaff and Adam Lester.
The leases were negotiated at between $60,000 and $200,000-plus a year, and on five-to-10 year terms, with future options, Gaff said.
Stage one of the market’s new neighbour is set to open early next year with Brick Lane Brewery.
This is the final Capital Gain for 2023. We wish all readers a happy holiday season and a prosperous new year. The column returns on January 27.