Ringwood’s ex-ice rink back on the market

But the 9430 sq m site at 28-30 Maroondah Highway, bordered by EastLink and the railway line, is back on the market with a permit for a mixed-use development.

Dubbed The Ring when announced in 2019, the twin-tower project included a Marriott hotel and a 19-storey high-rise. Cushman & Wakefield’s Joe Kairouz, Hamish Burgess and Leon Ma have the listing and are expecting more than $20 million.

Ringwood is one of the Victorian government’s 10 identified activity centres program, which allows for 20-storey high-rise towers.

The Barro Group owns the large parcel of land next door where it operates the Pronto cement works, providing easy access to a key building material. Last year, a developer spent $18.88 million on a 7015 sq m site at 93-97 Maroondah Highway. The former Holeproof factory turned Jooce nightclub is also earmarked for towers.

Long way to the top

GP-turned property investor Harry Chua has emerged as the successful buyer of the Commonwealth Super Fund’s defensive play on Flinders Lane.

It’s understood Chua has splashed out $14.8 million for the six-storey building on the corner of AC/DC Lane at 107-109 Flinders Lane.

The super fund, which handles the retirement incomes of federal public servants and defence personnel, owns the blue chip 101 Collins Street tower across the road.

CSC has long been a strategic buyer of neighbouring properties in a bid to protect the views of 101.

In March, it bought 63 Exhibition Street from Salta for just $45 million – a rare bargain given the fund’s tendency to over-pay to ensure it gets the right outcome for its tenants.

Ten years ago, it paid architect Philip Cox $15 million for the Flinders Lane building which had been approved for a super-skinny 43-storey tower. It now has height restrictions on any future development.

It’s not unusual for the CSC to sell at a loss. In 1996, it bought Rosatis (now Garden State Hotel) for $5.5 million and sold it six years later for $4.3 million, with height restrictions. JLL agents, Josh Rutman, Piper Dedrick, Nick MacFie and Xander Yeo handled the transaction but declined to comment.

Chua, an active investor and developer, recently bought several strata floors of 420 Collins Street after the collapse of the Victory co-working office group. He is one of the city’s biggest landlords.

Box ticking in Richmond

Kokoda Group’s Mark Stevens, has just made his second acquisition in Richmond in six months. In March, he bought 418 Burnley Street from the original owners of the Dutton Group, paying $5 million for the warehouse on the corner of Madden Grove.

In July, he followed up with the off-market acquisition of the Adairs showroom up the road at 495 Bridge Road for around $20 million.

It’s a significant uplift on the $14.8 million paid by the vendors at a hot auction in 2018 drew 12 bidders and a yield of just 2.09 per cent.

Kokoda is planning a mid-rise residential development on the 1650 sq m property on the corner of Palmer Street, with ground-floor retail and dining options.

“Richmond ticks all the boxes for us. Richmond 10 years ago isn’t what it is today and the same goes for Cremorne,” Stevens said.

Kokoda, which has offices in Cremorne, is planning its first Victorian commercial project for the Burnley Street property and will move in when it’s completed. The developer, which has operated mostly in Brisbane in the past, recently completed the Malvern Collective project.

Shepparton flip

A showroom in Shepparton has been flipped just eight months after it last changed hands, with the vendor booking a 28 per cent profit.

Properties & Pathways’s Cal Doggett bought the empty showroom late last year for $7.25 million, quickly securing a lease with furniture chain Amart. That move added a smidge over $2 million to the property’s value, which sold for $9.3 million.

The 3220 sq m property had previously been occupied by Spotlight which moved in late 2023 to a new purpose-built showroom down the road. It’s on a large 8094 sq m parcel of land and was sold with a new eight-year lease.

The campaign was handled by Colliers’ Will Heffernan and Tim McIntosh and Stonebridge agents Rorey James, Kevin Tong, and Justin Dowers.

Healthcare a hit on local strips

Kensington-based Advanced Vetcare group has snapped up a Stubbs Street office warehouse for a new emergency veterinary clinic.

The 3000 sq m office-warehouse at 20-26 Stubbs Street is understood to have sold for around $11.66 million.

Advanced Vetcare, which has other operations in Geelong and Kew, is understood to be moving from its existing Kensington clinic down the road on Robertson Street. The deal was negotiated by Gorman Kelly’s Nick Breheny and Francis Sbaglia.

The building had previously been the Peter Stevens Motorcycle Group’s service and training centre and was owned by the Chiodo family, who established the motorbike retailer in 1970. The Peter Stevens Group went into voluntary administration in May, with some of its dealerships selling in June to Motorcycle Holdings and the Joe Rascal Group.

The owner-occupier deal was an increasing rarity as investors increasingly move on medical and veterinary centres.

A vet clinic at 156 Epsom Road, Ascot Vale sold to a private interstate investor for $1.62 million, reflecting a yield of 5.51 per cent and another at 9 Merse Street, Ballarat, was sold off-market for $1.57 million on a 5.33 per cent yield. Both deals were done by Stonebridge’s Nic Hage, Rorey James and Ian Lam.

Meanwhile, they also sold two medical centres – one at 900 Toorak Road, Camberwell to an owner-occupier for $3.35 million and the other at 2 Trezise Street, Warrandyte for $3.4 million.

“Groups that traditionally focused on strip retail and fast-food investments are now broadening their interest to include medical and healthcare assets,” Hage said.

There were more than $800 million in transactions in the healthcare sector in 2024-2025, according to a report on the sector by the newly merged Burgess Rawson and CBRE agencies.