Developer swoops on landmark Richmond block
Larry Kestelman has bought the prominent Venus Packaging factory in Richmond – just outside the Cremorne boundary – as an office development play.
The 3864 square metre rectangle site at 549-555 Church Street, also bound by Northcote and Brighton (Google Street View image, top), is believed to be costing more than $40 million, according to local sources.
Zoned Commercial 2, it previously traded in 1995 for $4.2m.
It is understood Mr Kestelman intends to retain the existing warehouse in a redevelopment set to include premium grade offices, likely over retail.
Inner east double down
The off-market deal, yet to settle, comes weeks after Mr Kestelman started constructing two offices and an arcade on a unique rectangle site in nearby Green St, Cremorne, which he bought as a permit-ready opportunity for c$30m in 2022 (story continues below).
Due for completion next year, that project will house the executive’s businesses LK Property Group, Brand Collective and the National Basketball League.
Richmond, three kilometres east of Melbourne’s CBD, shares the same postcode as two boutique suburban office markets – Cremorne and Burnley.
More to come.
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