Aged care providers double down in Essendon

Arcare is buying the ex-Boundy’s at 25-29 Keilor Road, Essendon.

EXCLUSIVE

Arcare recently completed a facility at 33-35 Raleigh Street, Essendon.

Two aged care providers have swooped on prominent sites in Melbourne’s north west Essendon.

At 25-29 Keilor Road, close to the North Essendon Village, Arcare has picked up the long-time Boundy’s turned Market Fresh supermarket, with plans for a high-rise facility.

Eight levels could be considered given precedents; at one stage the 4010 square metre Commercial 1 zoned block, also facing Queen Street, was the subject of an 11 storey residential tower with 264 dwellings over a 2000 sqm ground floor supermarket.

The ex-Essendon Mazda site at 165-169 Keilor Road (outlined).

The speculated purchase price is c$11 million; Stonebridge’s Julian White, Andrew Milligan and Chao Zhang with Gross Waddell ICR’s Andrew Greenway and Danny Clark, the agents, managed a private sale campaign.

It is Arcare’s second asset in the suburb: in 2018 it bought the Roselyn Court reception centre at 33-35 Raleigh Street, now a luxury facility with 102 beds.

Regis buys ex-car yard

Meanwhile, a listed aged care developer is speculated to be buying the ex-Essendon Mazda dealership at 165-169 Keilor Rd, also with plans for a high-rise facility.

Covering 3550 sqm at the south east corner of Robert Rd, again zoned Commercial 1, the price is believed to be c$10m, which was being quoted through the campaign.

Vendor, Romano Property Group, outlaid $8.5m in late 2015, later applying for three apartment buildings, the tallest, seven levels, with a total 142 dwellings over 1000 sqm of retail – penned by ClarkeHopkinsClarke.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Daniel Wolman, Hamish Burgess and Joe Kairouz with Savills’ James Latos, Julian Heatherich and Benson Zhou, the agents, closed an expressions of interest campaign mid-November.

The brokers are not disclosing buyer, seller or price.

“With a strong shift in Melbourne’s demographic trends and an ageing population, the healthcare and retirement living sector has been on a steep growth trajectory,” Mr Burgess said of the campaign (story continues below).

The ex-Preston Motors Holden at 203-211 Keilor Road was recently listed for sale.

“165-169 Keilor Rd, Essendon, attracted strong interest from this buyer profile given the robust demographic fundamentals and the proximity to heath services within the local area,” according to the executive.

The permitted project at 203-211 Keilor Road, with 121 dwellings.

Mr Wolman added “the site also attracted interest from residential developers as well as commercial occupiers looking to capitalise on the high exposure and prominent corner position along Keilor Rd”.

This pocket of Essendon is about 10 kilometres from town.

Then there was one

The Market Fresh building and ex-Essendon Mazda dealership were two of three major Keilor Rd, Essendon, sites, listed late last year.

The other – the biggest, spreading 5316 sqm at #203-211, also facing Cooper and Roberts streets (and the ex-Essendon Mazda block) – is for private sale.

It was the only property listed with a permit – for a seven level residential tower with 121 dwellings, ground level commercial and a two floor basement.

Given the zoning (again, Commercial 1), this shell could be repurposed, for an office, hospitality, medical and/or retail asset for example, or a project with a mix of these elements.

Until just before COVID, the property housed a Preston Motors dealership.

Vinci Carbone’s Joseph Carbone and Frank Vinci have the listing.

Subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of this page.

Share or Recommend article

Marc Pallisco

A former property analyst and print journalist, Marc is the publisher of realestatesource.com.au.