The Labor government has approved an eight-level Melbourne data centre with almost half the area of the Rialto Towers.

US-based PGIM has secured final approval for the first building of a multi-stage, multi-billion-dollar data centre campus at 1 Oroya Drive, Truganina.

With an 80-megawatt capacity, it will contain 43,357 square metres.

The permit was issued through the Victorian Government’s Development Facilitation Program, a ministerial pathway for eligible commercial and infrastructure projects.

The process bypasses local council assessment and third-party appeal rights.

Major data centre planned

US-based PGIM paid $165.6 million earlier this year for the 20.7ha Truganina site earmarked for the campus.

The initial building will rise 34 metres

A 220kV connection and substation have been approved to link the land with the future Truganina Terminal Station. The development includes a data hall, plant areas, water infrastructure, a guard house, and a three-level office component. Construction costs are estimated at $422m. The project’s total end value is expected to circle $1.2 billion

The Rialto complex contains c90,900 sqm – c58,000 sqm across 55 levels in the South Tower and c33,000 sqm over 43 floors in the North Tower.

Not even the biggest

With an 80-megawatt capacity, the Truganina data centre isn’t the biggest earmarked for Melbourne.

In Mickleham, AirTrunk has lodged plans through the Development Facilitation Program for a campus at 45 Donnybrook Road (continues below).

It is paying $350m for the 67.1ha holding at the south-west corner of the Hume Highway.

Seven buildings are planned with an ultimate capacity exceeding one gigawatt.

Separately, Stockland is seeking approval for a 250-megawatt data centre at its 22ha Brooklyn Distribution Centre, like Truganina, in Melbourne’s west and at 72-76 Cherry Lane, Laverton, the latter with EdgeConneX.

In South Morang, Dover DC is advancing plans for a multi-stage data centre campus targeting up to 320-megawatts across two holdings, including an approved 120-megawatt facility at 525–535 McDonalds Rd and 765 Plenty Rd.

Zerra is also planning a major facility of this type on part of the ex-Ford site at Campbellfield.

Meanwhile, Goodman has submitted a proposal for two data centre buildings spanning 16.2ha of a 53.2ha site at 585 Berwick-Cranbourne Rd, Clyde North.

The $1.1b scheme on land owned by Neil Werrett’s Galileo Group – part-owner of champion racehorse Black Caviar- is under assessment by the City of Casey

PGIM will hold 1 Oroya Dve through the GDCF Truganina Trust, managed within its $US2b Global Data Centre Fund.

Global head of data centre investments Morgan Laughlin said the site maintains capacity for further expansion as additional power allocation becomes available.

“We’re capable of building a lot more than the initial 80 megawatts that we have planned, but that will be driven by future power availability,” he added.

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A Melbourne council has refused a planning permit for a 36-townhouse development – replacing a single family home.

At an Ordinary Council Meeting on Tuesday, Moonee Valley City councillors unanimously agreed to override the recommendation of their planning officers for the Niddrie proposal.

DM Property with joint venture partner Ark Capital sought to clear the 5354 square metre site at 67 Nolan Street – currently occupied by a rundown single-storey brick dwelling – to construct two and three-storey units across 12 layout designs.

Four boundary canopy trees would be removed for the subdivision.

Council received 158 objections from residents across 151 properties.

Parking, congestion, traffic, scale

A formal consultation meeting last month failed to resolve disputes; opponents raised concerns regarding parking, congestion, pedestrian safety and scale.

While council planning officers supported the project under state planning exemptions within the Housing Choice and Transport Zone, councillors voted to issue a Notice of Refusal, citing technical and site-specific grounds.

Council’s Traffic and Transport unit led internal objections, warning zero-visitor-parking paired with minimum-width shared private driveways presented operational risks.

Technical assessments added the lack of dedicated turnaround areas would force service, delivery, and emergency vehicles to reverse down narrow corridors.

Officers said forcing pedestrians, vehicles, and private waste trucks to share single accessways created ongoing safety hazards, particularly given the site’s 10-metre gradient (continues below).

Planners vs councillors in premier’s seat

The $82 million Niddrie proposal was lodged under controversial Labor government planning reforms, it claims is designed to accelerate medium-density housing.

The land sits within the state’s Housing Choice and Transport Zone (HCTZ2), a residential overlay aimed at creating compact, walkable communities near key commercial hubs and public transport routes.

The edge of the Keilor Rd retail strip, with public transport, is just over a kilometre from 67 Nolan St.

Under the Townhouse and Low-Rise Code, developments that satisfy key statutory metrics under Clause 55 trigger streamlined assessment pathways, restricting local councils from evaluating broader neighbourhood character or general policy frameworks.

Also affecting the Niddrie site, recent policy adjustments removed minimum visitor parking requirements for certain multi-dwelling sites in designated activity catchments.

DM Property now has 60 days to decide whether to redesign the project and try council again, or try the application with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The developer paid $5.61m for the site in December 2025.

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An ex-Best Western in Melbourne has sold to a Queensland-based aged care developer following an off-market deal.

Now the Tudor Box Hill Motel, it is the buyer’s maiden Melbourne property.

At 1101-1107 Whitehorse Road, on the north-east corner of Simpson Rd, beside a small retail strip, the site spans 4120 square metres, with motel rooms, serviced apartments, a restaurant, conference facilities and an indoor pool, gym, spa and sauna.

It had operated as a motel since 1985.

Box Hill, in recent years dubbed Melbourne’s second city given rampant apartment development, is about 14 kilometres east of the CBD.

Next chapter for ex-Best Western

Also once trading as the Best Western Tudor Box Hill, the property was refurbished by manager Mark Pelosi in 2011, when 26 serviced apartments were added to the existing 50-room hotel (continues below).

The $18 million revamp replaced older units and added a basement car park and four-storey apartment building

Stonebridge Property Group’s Chao Zhang, Andrew Milligan, Julian White and Lucas Duffy were the agents.

The deal comes three months since realestatesource.com.au reported an offshore investor paid $15.5m for a large-format retail investment at 321 Middleborough Rd, Box Hill South, anchored by Genesis Fitness Club and Legend Billiards Club.

In February a China-based operator paid $30.7m for the hotel component of the Trio mixed-use precinct at 845-849 Whitehorse Rd, Box Hill.

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The city’s ex-Waltons department store – later the four-screen Village City Centre – has been refreshed and rebranded with a string of new tenants.

The Icon, as it is now known, at 206 Bourke Street, contains 11,845 square metres of entertainment and retail space across six levels.

The north side of the complex is in the heart of the Chinatown precinct.

Michelin-starred Hong Kong dim sum restaurant Tim Ho Wan is amongst the tenants.

New retailers include Ukiyo Matcha and virtual reality entertainment group Sandbox VR.

JB Hi Fi and Holmesglen Institute also occupy space.

The Icon

3L Alliance paid $80.1 million for 206 Bourke St mid-last year.

ISPT – now part of IFM Investors – was the seller

It paid $116.3m in 2015.

3L Alliance is chasing more experiential retailers.

“The Icon is about creating a destination that feels distinctly Melbourne – energetic, diverse and built around experiences that give people another reason to spend time in the city,” 3L Alliance chief executive Jieshu Li said (continues below).

Senior marketing manager Connor Gibbons added that the repositioning reflected changing patterns in how people use the CBD.

“We’re seeing people increasingly look for more than traditional retail when they visit the city… entertainment, dining, social experiences and discovery are becoming an increasingly important part of the CBD experience, and that is at the heart of our vision for The Icon,” according to the executive.

Site history

The six-level building was developed in 1965 as a Waltons department store and was known as Village City Centre between 1986 and 2005, when it was owned by Village Roadshow Asset Management.

Challenger, which acquired Village Roadshow Asset Management in 1999, sold the property to Cromwell for $31.9m in 2004.

Cromwell on-sold it three years later for $34.3m to Les Smith and Macquarie, which repurposed the building as a retail-based mixed-use complex.

About one-fifth of the area was retained as offices.

Singapore-based Hiap Hoe bought the property for $105m in 2013 before selling it to ISPT two years later.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Daniel Wolman, Oliver Hay and Leon Ma brokered the sale to 3L.

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Australia’s changing demographics and growing demand for essential services are putting healthcare and social infrastructure further into the investment spotlight.

More than 500 investors, operators, government representatives, developers and property professionals are expected to gather in Melbourne next month as CBRE examines the growing infrastructure requirements of Australia’s healthcare and social services sectors.

CBRE’s The Impact of Healthcare and Social Infrastructure will be held at Crown Palladium on October 7, with the event already at capacity and a waitlist in place.

Business and finance commentator David Koch will deliver the keynote address, examining the economic and demographic forces shaping Australia and what they could mean for investment and infrastructure over coming decades.

Journalist and broadcaster Jacqui Felgate will moderate a panel bringing together government, investment and operator perspectives.

The panel will feature Victorian Health Building Authority representative Priscilla Radice, Barwon Investment Partners managing director Tom Patrick and Regis Aged Care executive Georgia Willis.

CBRE Australian Healthcare & Social Infrastructure national director Sandro Peluso said the response to the event reflected the breadth of interest now surrounding the sector (continues below).

“We are seeing increasingly sophisticated conversations around healthcare and social infrastructure from institutional capital, private investors, developers and operators,” Mr Peluso said.

Investors were increasingly looking beyond traditional property measures, he said, with operator quality, demographics, service demand, location, lease structures and the long-term relevance of the services being delivered becoming important considerations.

The event will examine the economic outlook, capital and investment trends, infrastructure delivery, government and policy considerations, and the changing requirements of healthcare and social infrastructure operators.

Healthcare and social infrastructure covers an increasingly broad range of property and services, from hospitals, medical facilities and aged care to childcare, specialist accommodation and other essential community infrastructure.

The event comes as investors and governments face the challenge of providing infrastructure for an ageing and changing population, while operators confront growing demand for healthcare and care services.

Two land-rich industrial assets in Melbourne’s south-east have sold this week.

In Dandenong South, a 1.7-hectare site at 493-497 Frankston Dandenong Road (pictured, top) collected $17.56 million from a Perth-based owner-occupier expanding into the state.

The result prices the Industrial 1 zoned land at $1031 per square metre.

Crabtrees Real Estate’s Pana Kritikos and Grant Tishler with GO Commercial Industrial’s Andrew O’Connell and Robert Colaneri were the agents.

Meanwhile, a 7798 sqm Moorabbin industrial holding has sold to developer EO Developments for $6.65m including GST.

At 130-140 Herald Street, it contains 1052 sqm of improvements including a 372 sqm showroom, office, two sheds and workshops (continues below).

Vacant, it was marketed for its potential to yield a multi-unit business park or a corporate headquarters, with 77.5 metres of street frontage.

Knight Frank’s Steven Salopek and Stuart Gill were the agents.

The result prices the land, classified as in Cheltenham, at c$853 per sqm.

More to come.

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Sonya Kilkenny has cleared the way for the redevelopment of Melbourne’s former Kingswood Golf Club, with the owner Satterley this month listing the first blocks via application.

The permit grant allows for 179-217 Centre Dandenong Road, Dingley Village, to be subdivided into 932 residential lots.

It replaces an 823-home application considered in 2018 by council then in 2021 through the state’s planning process, and a 941-lot development plan approved by Labor last year.

Satterley will develop the estate in 15 stages with the first being tested through online registrations ahead of sales.

The the first lots are being offered from $774,000 to $1.143 million, with townhouses from $799,900.

The suburb is about 23 kilometres south-east of town.

Development to tee off after union windfall

Following the merger with Peninsula Golf Club, the 53.4 hectare Kingswood Golf Club site was sold to union-affiliated Australian Super through an entity managed publicly by ISPT in 2014, for $125m.

The 823-lot subdivision in 2018 was rejected by Kingston Council following c8000 objections.

Its concerns include traffic, infrastructure, flooding, open space and vegetation.

The state government subsequently established the Golf Course Redevelopment Standing Advisory Committee to consider the development, which then approved a rezone for residential (continues below).

Satterley Property Group bought it in March, 2024, for c$220 million; Australian Super saying the project no longer aligned with its property strategy as it cashed out.

The 941-home scheme was approved in 2025.

No consultation: opponents

After the state took responsibility for key planning decisions, Kingston Council and residents lost the same role they would ordinarily have had in a council-determined application.

In April, the council said the application just approved by Ms Kilkenny, who said she considered submissions, should not be supported.

Flooding remains – the permit requires further work on drainage and flood management, including independent review of key drainage works and modelling to demonstrate that flooding is not worsened outside the site.

Other matters to be resolved through conditions and subsequent approvals include staging, subdivision, traffic, infrastructure, vegetation and affordable housing.

Opponents to the decision have argued these matters should have been resolved before permission was granted.

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The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne has sold another asset – part of a broader sell-down amid its response to historical abuse claims.

The nine-level office at 228 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, found favour with Shor Property + Development, the new investment and development vehicle backed by Square Peg Capital’s Justin Liberman, Moose Toys chairman Paul Solomon, Leaf Corporation’s Adam Rogers and ex-Teska Carson director Steve Fein. 

Sources say the result is under $20 million.

The church paid $4.5m in 1996.

The office was also once owned by Local Authorities Superannuation, now part of Vision Super.

It was also known as James Goold House.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Daniel Wolman, Oliver Hay and Leon Ma were the agents.

James Goold House

On 1016 square metres zoned Commercial 1 near the corner of Lansdowne Street, the full office address is 224-230 Victoria Pde.

It contains 5200 sqm – the south side capturing Fitzroy Gardens views over the heritage-protected Mary MacKillop Heritage Centre – and 60 basement car parks accessed from Providence Lane.

The area is considered A-grade. The NABERS rating is 4.5-star. The church offered it with a leaseback expiring in January.

It was marketed for its development upside, able to accommodate residential.

A sell-down of floors after a strata titling is another option.

Even if rented as is, the buyers have likely bought at a high yield (based on the short-term rent offered by the church, the yield on this deal could be over 11 per cent).

In May realestatesource.com.au reported Shor bought its maiden asset – 11 Queens Road, opposite Albert Park Lake, as a development play (continues below).

Another sale

The deal comes 11 months since the Archdiocese sold 384-388 Albert St to Rino and Diana Grollo’s Australian Alpine Institute for $10.54m. The Grollos subsequently bought the adjoining 390 Albert St for $2.53m.

The church paid $13.3m for 384-388 Albert St in 2021.

The Archdiocese also shed 396 Albert St for $2.58m, 398 Albert St for $2.7m and 400 Albert St ($2.8m).

In February, a company controlled by 7-Eleven Australia heiress Deborah Barlow bought the adjoining 402-408 Albert St terraces from the church, for $11.36m.

Church consolidates

The Archdiocese said when 228 Victoria Pde was listed that it no longer served a purpose aligned with its current mission priorities, with proceeds to fund other Archdiocesan initiatives.

Functions undertaken at the office will be moved elsewhere in the St Patrick’s Cathedral precinct.

The disposals come as the Archdiocese continues to meet financial obligations arising from historical abuse claims, which were examined by the Yoorrook Justice Commission.

Another asset part of this sell-down is Brunswick’s Don Bosco site, which includes a popular homeless shelter.

The Archdiocese holds about 350 sites containing 730 buildings.

The insured value is $3.3 billion.

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The Carroll government will be forced to pay over $50 million in compensation – including the first solatium awarded to a Victorian council – after a Supreme Court battle over land seized for the North East Link.

The City of Boroondara challenged the State’s $30.1m offer for the former Boroondara Tennis Club at 1/150 Bulleen Road, Balwyn North.

The 3.7 hectare site, with 23 tennis courts, a clubhouse, café, offices and parking, was subject to a Public Use Zone

A Land Subject to Inundation Overlay also covers about 87 per cent.

Despite this, Boroondara sought $58m on the basis the property should be appraised according to its highest-and-best-use, which in its case involved a potential residential outcome.

The State argued for a valuation based on the existing planning controls.

Win-lose

On Wednesday, the court sided with council and determined how the land would have traded on the open market, taking into account a potential residential use.

But for the restrictions, it applied a 40 per cent discount to the market rate – in the end awarding $49.69m.

Another $185,000 was awarded for rent lost from a mobile phone tower.

Boroondara also received $150,000 in solatium and $161,000 for professional fees – a total of $50.19m. 

North East Link costing more money, more time: AG

Ben Carroll was roads minister when the State moved to acquire the Boroondara Tennis Centre site for the North East Link in 2018. Melissa Horne replaced him in 2022 (continues below).

Jacinta Allan and later Danny Pearson held the transport infrastructure portfolio as the project moved into its construction phase, with tunnel boring started two years ago.

Originally due to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026-27, it is now scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2028-29 – a delay of six quarters, or one and a half years, according to the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office.

The cost has also increased: the North East Link’s primary tunnels and State Tolling Corporation package had an original approved total estimated investment of $15.64b which has risen to $26.21b – 67.58pc.

The AG added the State has not formally reassessed the project’s benefit-cost ratio to reflect the changes in scope and cost.

First solatium payment

The award is understood to be the first time a Victorian council has received solatium – compensation for intangible disadvantage arising from compulsory acquisition rather than compensation for the market value of the land itself.

Boroondara argued the payment recognised the loss of a community facility that had operated on the site for decades.

The court accepted the compulsory acquisition caused council an intangible disadvantage beyond the financial value of the property.

The former tennis centre closed in 2022 to make way for North East Link. 

An 18-court replacement was established at the Glen Waverley/Wheelers Hill border – known as the Monash Tennis Centre, part of the Glen Waverley Sports Hub.

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The former Port Melbourne Police Station and bluestone lock-up is for lease, nearly three decades after the historic property was sold by the state government.

The Victorian-era holding at 111 Bay Street was recently vacated by McClusky Solicitors which occupied for more than 20 years before merging with Schembri Law.

Also with access to a laneway off Nott St, it spans 342 square metres across three buildings.

The main complex contains 206 sqm over two floors and contemporary north facing single level annex of 62 sqm.

The lock-up behind it, with 74 sqm, can also be accessed from Bay St.

There are also two car parks.

GrayJohnson’s Simon Regan is the agent.

This pocket of Port Melbourne is about four kilometres from the CBD (continues below).

Ex-cop shop for lease

The former police station and bluestone lock-up form part of the Port Melbourne Court House, Police Station and Lock-up heritage place, listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

The police station dates to before 1864 – records describing it as one of Victoria’s first brick, two-storey properties of its type, built to an early Public Works Department design.

Victoria Police used it until the 1990s.

The heritage protection also covers the neighbouring 113-119 Bay St – the c1860 Port Melbourne Court House.

Together, the properties form part of the early government infrastructure around the foreshore, when Bay Street was the centre of Port Melbourne’s civic activity. 

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