Leonard Joel to shift from South Yarra
EXCLUSIVE
Leonard Joel will relocate from its long-time South Yarra headquarters to the ex-Xero office, in Hawthorn, owned by Mario Lo Giudice’s Banco Group.
The auction house has signed up for the 1100 square metre tenancy and underground car parks at 1A Oxley Road, behind the Glenferrie Rd retail strip, for an initial 10 years.
Banco is presently renovating the already modernised space (Xero undertook a full refurbishment when it moved in two years ago).
The landlord will also revamp the façade.
The deal comes a year since ex-Sotheby’s owners, ex-deputy lord mayor Gary Singer, with Geoffrey Smith, paid $10.45m for one of St Kilda’s oldest mansions, Eildon, on 2203 sqm, with plans to move in their auction house, Smith & Singer.
The pair, for that business, also own a CBD base at 14-16 Collins St.
Auction house coming to Hawthorn
Leonard Joel will move from its long-time 3105 sqm home at 333 Malvern Rd – the ex-Hawskburn State School – which recently sold to Gary Theodore who plans to move in the Scanlan Theodore company he created in 1987.
That property featured 43 customer parking bays.
By comparison at Hawthorn, visitors are expected to use one of two adjoining public car parks.
Glenferrie Rd is also serviced by a tram. The Glenferrie station is also about 200 metres away (story continues below).
Gross Waddell ICR’s Barry Novy and Andrew Waddell acted for Banco, which is presently fitting out 1A Oxley Rd with air conditioned open display areas, offices and for storage.
Scrivener Forsyth represented Leonard Joel.
Glenferrie Road precinct humming
The Leonard Joel deal comes a week since we reported Lido Cinemas owner Eddie Tamir secured bookstore Readings to three of five adjoining properties – including a Gothic style ex-ANZ bank – on Glenferrie Rd.
That tenant is planning two stores: a traditional bookshop and a children’s one.
Near there, Woolworths spent $12.85m in the street last year to acquire the 3640 sqm piece of the ex-Glenferrie Market at 674-680 Glenferrie Rd, which it had been renting for a supermarket.
McMullin Group is also a local owner; it paid $11.5m – 15 per cent over guide – for a 1960s ex-Westpac branch at 655-657 Glenferrie Rd, in a small pocket of the strip also falling under the suburb’s revered Grace Park estate.
It plans to replace the property with a six storey 2576 sqm office, part which will dub as its headquarters.
The group is presently at Camberwell.
A little north of all those properties, meanwhile, at 852-858 Glenferrie Rd, APH is replacing its headquarters with a seven level, 87-suite hotel to be occupied by Accor as Novotel Hawthorn.
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