Kew locals the winners from $16 million development site sale
A unique development site in the leafy eastern Melbourne suburb of Kew has sold to a local developer who is said to have low-density plans for it.
The 5297 square metre parcel at 46-48 Wills Street traded for $16 million.
The incoming owner is understood to be contemplating subdividing the block, then possibly building luxury homes. It is speculated the site could make way for seven or eight freestanding homes.
Given the location in a tree-lined pocket of the suburb, abutting Yarra Bend Park, and offering city views, each dwelling could feasibly sell for well in excess of $4.5 million.
RT Edgar director Mark Wridgway managed the recent expressions of interest campaign with colleague James Paull.
The agent said the property attracted a range of prospective buyers – local and offshore – including some who were contemplating replacing the site with townhouses.
The parcel last traded in 1990 for $415,000.
Kew, about five kilometres from the CBD, carries a median house price of $2.3 million according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria. Units in the suburb average $785,000 – a rise of 14.3 per cent over the past quarter.
It is the second time recently in which a large Kew site at risk of selling to a medium density developer found its way into the hands of a buyer which instead subdivided the property with suburban sized blocks to replace with freestanding homes.
In 2010, a former University of Melbourne campus at 6-12 Madden Grove, offered with plans to be replaced with a 25-dwelling apartment complex, sold for $9 million to local residents who were keen to preserve the low-density nature of the exclusive pocket.
