Challenger Sells 417 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, For $80 Million

INVESTMENT manager Challenger has offloaded a major St Kilda Road tower in an $80 million deal.

The 10-level, 20,000 square metre A-grade office at #417 (pictured, right) has been purchased by syndicate Newmark Property Group, headed by ex Lend Lease and Mirvac executive Chris Langford and Simon Morris, previously director of the Peninsula Development Group.

The sale price represents a high yield of about 9 per cent. For years known as the Mobil building, 417 St Kilda Road includes Oracle and the Red Cross as major tenants.

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Target Signs Major Office Lease in St Kilda Road, Melbourne

RETAIL giant Target has leased 4462 square metres of office space on Melbourne city-fringe office market, St Kilda Road.

The Wesfarmers controlled group chose the building because of its proximity to the CBD and Flinders Street train station.

St Kilda Road office tenants have criticised (and vacated) the area which is only serviced by train. At it’s peak St Kilda Road had more than 800,000 square metres of available office space, but no developer has proposed a new office in more than ten years.

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Spotless Group Leases Entire St Kilda Road Office Building, Melbourne

SPOTLESS Group has leased an entire St Kilda Road office building, and will relocate its headquarters from the Melbourne CBD.

The cleaning services and management company, currently based at 350 Queen Street, has leased about 9200 square metres at the 549 St Kilda Road building previously known as AIG House.

The rent Spotless will pay has not been disclosed, but industry sources speculate it circles about $250 per square metre, per annum, before incentives (a lure usually offered in the way of a fit-out, or rental discount). This is low compared to the CBD, Southbank and Docklands.

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Schwartz Family Corporation to Sell 499 St Kilda Road

AUSTRALIAN hotel owners Schwartz Family Corporation are selling a major St Kilda Road development site bordering Fawkner Park.

The family can expect around $53 million from the sale of The Fawkner Centre at 499 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, near the corner of Commercial Road, which acts as the Prahran and South Yarra suburb border.

The 6070 square metre site includes a 19-level, 21,377 square metre office pictured, right) that currently returns annual rent of $5.9 million.

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Deaf Children Australia to Sell a Portion of its St Kilda Road Site

APARTMENT construction at the bottom end of Albert Park Lake looks set to intensify with Deaf Children Australia listing major residential development site for sale, abutting Wesley College’s St Kilda Road campus.

Local agency sources expect DCA will reap between $16 – $20 million from the sale of the 5471 square metre site which is being marketed as a multi-level development site at lot 1, 597 St Kilda Road.

Most of the site is an open air car park with frontage to (the less exclusive) High Street, just west of Punt Road. The precinct is classified as Melbourne, with postcode 3004, however many of the occupants in the area, including Wesley and the Alfred Hospital, also classify their addresses as Prahran.

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Former PM Residence, St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Listed For Sale

ONE of the few remaining historic mansions in Melbourne’s grand St Kilda Road is being offered for sale – but its fate – as a luxury home, or as an equally lavish office – is now in the hands of whoever waves the biggest cheque.

The prominent Airlie mansion at 452 St Kilda Road, on the north-west corner of Arthur Street was once occupied by Prime Minister Stanley Bruce whose Nationalist-Country coalition governed the country between 1923 – 1929.

Built in 1891, Airlie was eminent during a period St Kilda Road was revered as the address of Melbourne’s wealthiest aristocrats and where some of the city’s most grandiose residential real estate was developed.

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Nikos Believed to be Behind $21 Million St Kilda Road Purchase

PRIVATE investment group Nikos Property Group is believed to be making its second foray into the St Kilda Road office market.

Sources say the group is in advanced negotiations to buy the 549 St Kilda Road office for $21 million.

The building is being offloaded by Chartis, whose predecessor, American Home Assurance Company, paid $28 million in 1987.

Chartis is relocating its offices to Docklands.

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Surge in Chinese Visa Applications Prompts St Kilda Road Office Lease

Belgian Beer CafeA SURGE in the number of Chinese visa applications has forced the Chinese Embassy to lease new offices specifically for the Chinese Visa Application Service Centre division.

The department will now be based at 570 St Kilda Road after signing a six year lease for almost 500 square metres of ground floor space.

The Chinese government will pay a starting rent of $240 per square metre, per annum to occupy the A-grade, 8-level office, opposite the popular Belgian Beer Cafe Bluestone and Wesley College.

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