Haileybury pays $7.1m for ex-Mushroom, Reebok HQ, to expand West Melbourne campus
EXCLUSIVE
Haileybury has paid $7.125 million for the West Melbourne warehouse-converted-office once the headquarters of Mushroom Music then Reebok Australia, with plans to expand its city campus.
The acquisition of 27-31 Dudley Street is tactical, coming two years after the private school signed a near-century lease with St James Old Cathedral for a 1028 square metre block of land abutting it.
Combined with that Batman St parcel – presently used as an outdoor student recreation area – the college has a development footprint of 1641 sqm.
Haileybury fit out Melbourne’s first vertical school four years ago at nearby 383-405 King St – an 11-storey former office which cost it $50m in 2015.
That campus is considered a success with a waiting list at most year levels.
Its first group of year 12 students graduated this week.
Haileybury will develop West Melbourne sites but not yet
Savills’ Clinton Baxter and Nick Peden marketed 27-31 Dudley St, which previously traded for $3.6m in 2010.
Haileybury settled last December; vacant, it is neither being occupied or leased out (story continues below).
A spokesperson added there are no immediate plans to build.
Longer term the amalgamated holding is speculated could make way for a mid-rise structure around a recreation space.
Any project would need to incorporate the facade of the Baroque-style former Mushroom and Reebok office, developed in 1900 for Moreland Smelting Works.
On 613 sqm, zoned Mixed Use and with Maloney Lane side access, 27-31 Dudley St was promoted as a high rise development site when it was listed mid-last year.
Elsewhere in the street, this month, UAG started replacing the Flagstaff City Inn with a 25-level residential tower.
Vicland completed a 38-storey apartment building three years ago on a holding next to that.
At 407-411 King St – next door to Haileybury’s operating city campus – Iglu is proposing an 18 floor student accommodation complex which will incorporate the low-rise Flagstaff House – developed in 1970 by prestige architect Yuncken Freeman as its headquarters.
Bates Smart penned the replacement project.
