Box Hill South’s former St Leo’s College for sale
Box Hill South’s former St Leo’s College is for sale as a medium density residential development site.
The five hectare parcel at 15-31 Hay Street, 14 kilometres east of Melbourne, could trade for up to $70 million.
The land very briefly hit the market before being withdrawn in 2016, two years after vendor Canaan International Student Centre sought to replace it with an aged care complex, townhouses and apartment buildings up to seven storeys – a total of about 310 dwellings.
It previously traded for $7m in 2005 – when it wasn’t yet zoned for residential use.
Hays International College has occupied it recently.
The listing comes two years after the Loyal Orange Institute of Australia banked a speculated $15m from a 1.2ha parcel at 325 Station St, in the suburb.
In May Villa Maria Catholic Homes paid $8.2m for a 5047 square metre site at 110 Albion Road, Box Hill which, like the St Leo’s offering, is parkside.
Also in that month Vicinity unveiled plans for a $2 billion redevelopment at its 5.5ha Box Hill Central properties, adding hundreds of apartments, a 42,000 sqm office and hotel.
Apartments, townhouses, likely development outcome for St Leo’s
Colliers International is marketing 15-31 Hay St for Cor Cordis, mortgagee in possession.
Townhouses and apartment buildings are the most likely development outcome, agents Trent Hobart, Hamish Burgess and Jun Lai said.
As in 2014, some form of aged care could be incorporated, they added (story continues below).
“The site is unique given its substantial land size and is considered a premium future residential address given the parkland surrounds, including fronting onto Gardiners Creek and the Gardiners Creek trail which meanders through the inner eastern suburbs,” according to Mr Hobart.
“The Box Hill and Box Hill South residential markets have been performing very well, having both experienced median house price growth of circa 24 per cent over the past 12 months,” he said.
The latter’s three-bedroom median house price is $1.266m according to realestate.com.au.
“Fifteen to 31 Hay St is an increasingly rare large scale, predominantly townhouse opportunity that is destined to become a preferred destination for liveability and amenity for the future residents,” Mr Hobart added.
“There was an earlier proposal over the land which incorporated the potential rezoning from its current General Residential…to Residential Growth, which included c50,000 sqm of predominantly residential use across the land.
“Large infill sites of over 50,000 sqm of land area zoned for residential development have become increasingly rare.
“It is for this reason that there is a distinct lack of townhouse projects across Melbourne.
“Other projects of similar and successful scale include the Burwood Brickworks development site nearby…, the Williamsons Estate in Doncaster and Arbor in Blackburn”.
In July Wolf Group paid c$90m for a 9.14ha townhouse site at Highett, in Melbourne’s south – of which five hectares is developable.
That property is earmarked for about 500 dwellings.
The suburb’s median three bedroom house price is (similar to Box Hill South at) $1.275m.
