Holden testing sale of Lang Lang proving ground off-market
General Motors Holden’s landmark Lang Lang proving ground is being touted off-market.
Abutting Bass Highway, 85 kilometres south east of Melbourne – about 10 kilometres from the main township, which is seeing planning change for, and development of, low-density housing – the 877 hectare block is offered with vacant possession from this September.
The car marker opened the facility in 1957.
It recently invested $8.7 million renovating improvements including laboratories, and developing new ones.
GMH also spent about $7.2m on “one of the most significant upgrades” of the roads – laying 7500 tonnes of asphalt on the circular track, on which it has performed more than 120 million kms of evaluating.
In a brochure, CBRE’s Dean Hunt and Stephen Adgemis are promoting the potential depreciation benefits of those works.
The facility includes 44kms of course – and a perimeter fence almost half this size
Arguably as important as the structures is the long-term development prospects of the land, which is about an half hour drive from two major activity centres in different directions: at Cranbourne and Pakenham. It is also on a busy thoroughfare connecting Melbourne to Phillip Island.
In 2013, when rumours were mounting that GMH would offload more of its land in Port Melbourne’s Fishermans Bend, the Lang Lang asset was estimated to be worth about $20m.
Billionaire businessman Lindsay Fox was also speculated to be a suitor (story continues below).
Holden’s Victorian sites parked to history
The Lang Lang proving ground listing comes four months after the car maker made the shock decision to exit Australia, part of bigger plans to stop producing right-hand-drive vehicles.
Its former Salmon Street, Port Melbourne headquarters has been offered for lease in stages over recent years.
In 2016 the car maker’s 37.7ha former Fishermans Bend plant sold for $130m to the Andrews government (recently completely razed, that land is earmarked to for an education and employment precinct focused on design and engineering).
About 15 years ago GMH sold another part of its Port Melbourne holding to a partnership comprising Australian Super and Mirvac in an unusual deal which saw the purchasers build the vendor a new office.
In 1997, the motoring giant offloaded its Dandenong North plant to Phileo Australia which later traded it to Cbus Property.
The former General Motors train station at the bottom of that site operated between 1954-2004.
Two years ago, Melbourne developer Pelligra Group snapped up the company’s redundant Adelaide plant, which has since been repurposed into a business park.
