Ericsson sells sprawling Melbourne site to TAXIBOX
Ericsson has sold a sprawling former manufacturing plant in Melbourne, held decades.
TAXIBOX has bought 194-202 Bell Street, Preston, outlaying $10.1 million.
The storage group was recently displaced from a Brunswick facility – which Mirvac and Milieu just replaced with a build to rent apartment project.
The Preston site is zoned Industrial 3 with three other street frontages.
Part of the holding facing Bell St could be redeveloped for quick-service restaurants and other mixed-use businesses.
Colliers’ Corey Vraca, Mitch Purcell and Nick O’Brien were the agents.
Key Preston site: council
Also exposed to Belgrove, Lahinch and Ovado streets – the Preston site spans 1.041 hectares.
Only one building remains – the bulk of the former factory was demolished just after 10 years ago.
The site is at the edge of an industrial precinct – with residential at its north and west.
To the south, where it has 136 metres of Bell St frontage, is a Harvey Norman and Officeworks.
Across all four roads, the block has 417m frontage.
AMCOR, Australia Post, Bunnings, Kitchen Warehouse and Petbarn are nearby (continues below).
Ericsson manufactured and supplied electronic components, including power electrics and telecommunication products, from several bases. It also had a major office/warehouse at Broadmeadows, for a period in the 1990s said to have employed the bulk of its Australian staff.
Island block
The City of Darebin’s 2006 Bell Street Strategy identifies the then-vacant Preston site as a key suburb redevelopment opportunity.
Ericsson never sought to rezone it for residential, while 14-level apartment towers have been built on High St, in the suburb.
The ALP’s recently introduced planning changes toward considerably greater suburban density contemplates 10-storey buildings around the Preston activity centre.
Taller towers can be proposed at Preston Market,
However the suburb is short of commercial space too.
“Preston is incredibly land constrained with limited supply of industrial land remaining and a severe lack of infill development opportunities, driving long-term performance,” the agents said,
TAXIBOX will take over part of the tract – its business is based on delivering, collecting and storing weatherproof mobile storage boxes, with the Preston site providing space for its operations and storage.
Preston is about 10 kilometres north of Melbourne’s CBD.
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