Sandhurst to turn Melbourne farm into $500m industrial estate
Melbourne developers Tony Johnson and Rory Costelloe have added a new string to their development bow – that of industrial developers – after acquiring a historic sheep and cattle farm in Melbourne’s north that will be transformed into a $500 million logistics estate.
The 252-hectare property at 25 Vearings Lane in Epping, known as Hendon Park, has been acquired by Villawood affiliate Sandhurst Capital and will be developed by Sandhurst Retail and Logistics (SRL), the commercial development and investment business established in 2019 by Mr Johnson.
Mr Johnson and Mr Costelloe are executive directors of Villawood Properties, one of Melbourne’s biggest developers. SRL is a seperate business.
Initially focused on greenfield retail developments, SRL managing director Vivek Subramanian told The Australian Financial Review expansion into industrial and logistics was always of interest pre-COVID-19. “We were just waiting for the right time,” he said.
Around 100 hectares of Hendon Park has been rezoned for industrial use with the rest to be set aside as a nature reserve.
The first stage of the new logistics park will comprise lots and built-form packages including pre-leases and turnkey buildings, ranging from 10,000 to 75,000 square metres.
The estate, which is targeting a 5-Star Green Star rating, will offer B-double truck access, and connectivity to the Hume Freeway via the soon-to-be complete O’Hern’s Road interchange.
SRL will look to capitalise on pent-up demand for warehouse space due to low industrial vacancy rates – just 3.4 per cent in Melbourne’s North according to CBRE – and the growth of e-commerce and online retailing.
“We made the decision to expand into logistics to bolster the company’s growth strategy – by continuing to focus on the end user and our contribution to evolving growth areas, we believe we can deliver high-performing logistics assets for the new economy,” Mr Subramanian said.
Hendon Park date back to the late 1800s when the Vearing family milked 80-90 dairy cows by hand. It later became a merino sheep farm and stud in the early 1940s.
Third-generation family owners Lynn and Pam Vearing have run sheep and cattle on the farm for the past 55 years, but decided to sell to Sandhurst with suburbia rapidly encroaching.
Title deeds show Sandhurst Capital’s Vearing Lane Pty Ltd placed a caveat over the site in August last year. Settlement is due by the end of 2021. Pricing has not been disclosed.
Ownership of SRL (previously called Sandhurst Retail) is split five ways between the two Villawood executive directors, Oliver Hume boss Michael Duster, Dino Strano, founder of building firm Winslow and Winslow CEO, Trevor Lockwood.
Together with $300 million of retail projects, SRL now boasts an $800 million pipeline.
Mr Subramanian said SRL was in discussions with anchor tenants for the logistics park.
“This will be a prime-grade logistics park,” he said.
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