George Saade lists Moonee Ponds’ Phillips Arcade
Melbourne developer George Saade has listed for sale one of Moonee Ponds’ most prominent sites in the week a state government report was released suggesting 30-storey towers in the suburb should become the norm.
Phillips Arcade on Puckle Street – one of the city’s most popular strips – should trade for about $10 million.
The retail investment is a logical site for a high-rise tower spreading 1887 square metres, with rear street access, near to the suburb’s train station, as well as a major bus interchange.
The land is also zoned Activity Centre 1.
At present Phillips Arcade is configured with 15 tenancies – 14 retail shops and an upstairs office – and has the potential to earn a fully-let rental income of $500,000 per annum.
It sits within the heart of the retail strip – often dubbed the Toorak Road of the west – and offers substantial value-add propositions in its current form as a retail arcade. Major occupiers in the area include Bonds, Chemist Warehouse, Reject Shop, Smiggle, Sussans and Witchery. Larger format retailers including Aldi, Coles, K-Mart and Woolworths are also in the pocket.
Mr Saade is offering 31-43 Puckle Street permit-ready for a 10-level tower containing 84 dwellings, nine shops and offices. Melbourne Acquisitions James Latos and Dominic Gibson with Allard Shelton’s Michael Ryan, James Gregson and Joseph Walton are the brokers.
The listing follows the release of a state government report recommending that suburban buildings which exceeded preferred height limits, but were still approved, should set new benchmarks for developments moving forward.
Another Melbourne-based developer, Caydon, won ministerial approval last year to replace part of the Moonee Ponds Market site, nearby, with a 30-storey complex.
The Moonee Valley council is set to release a report next year, taking into account this week’s government findings.
Last month we reported that Mr Saade leased the 240 sqm retail component of the Station Hotel redevelopment, in Prahran, to Next Practice Health, for a starting annual rent of $240,000.
