Deague Group buys South Melbourne site for $24m+, plans Australia’s first “wellness office”

Aerial view showing the site in context to the Melbourne CBD

The Deague Group plans to build Australia’s first “wellness office” on a South Melbourne site it has just bought from the Monaco-based Shearman family, reportedly one of the backers behind the Dr Lewin Private Skin Formula range.

The Deague Group is paying a speculated price of $24.65 million for the permit-ready rectangle shaped development site covering addresses between 81-109 Moray Street, the agency which sold it confirmed.

Across 4057 square metres, the holding was offered with permission for a seven storey office containing almost 15,000 square metres of lettable area – a complex the Deague Group will now build speculatively (ie, without a tenant pre-commitment).

Deague Group CEO Will Deague

Chief executive officer Will Deague, who released details of the purchase today, said the developer would bring its experience in the hotel sector to deliver a first for the Australian market – a “wellness office building”, with a reflection garden, state of the art gym and six-star end of trip facilities.

“We are also exploring what we believe is a first in any office building whereby we have a range of hotel style accommodation facilities which can be occupied by tenants of the building only,” Mr Deague said.

It is buying the site from the family of late socialite and businesswoman Francine Shearman – a 1950s photographic model who in the 1970s married renowned Australian Rules footballer Bob Sherman. Tony Belia, who was the partner Ms Sherman until her unexpected death following a 2015 surgery, is now romantically linked with Gina Rinehart.

In South Melbourne, the Deague Group controls the 33,000 square metre Kings Business Park office complex, only a couple of hundred metres away from the Moray Street site it has just acquired.

Will Deague’s father, David, has a strong track record of development in the city, his portfolio including a mix of strata office, retail and hotel stock.

In late 2015, in a personal transaction, the Deague family paid Good Guys boss Andrew Muir $21.5 million for a historic Guildford Bell designed house on the Sorrento waterfront, which was immediately demolished to make way for a compound.

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Marc Pallisco

A freelance property writer and experienced analyst, Marc is the co-founder of realestatesource.com.au