Commercial and residential property news
The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia this week released its inaugural Commercial Property Commentary on industrial sales and activity in the state.
The report shows that while the total value of reported sales over the last financial year reached $3.78 billion, the number of sales actually dropped by 16 per cent on the previous year.
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IN THE east Melbourne suburb of Doncaster, a Manningham City Council has suggested long-time dweller Westfield financially contribute to an infrastructure project designed to cope with the traffic it will permit for development along the eastern corridor.
Cr Stephen Mayne this week said the Sydney based property company would be the biggest beneficiary of a train line to Doncaster Shoppingtown – currently Westfield’s third best centre measured by sales, after Bondi Junction in Sydney and Chermside in Brisbane.
The Eastern Golf Course nearby has also been sold to a developer (Mirvac) and is expected to be replaced with a $1 billion residential-based village with apartment, office and hotel towers, and streets built around fairways, once an orchard.
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LACHLAN Murdoch is the latest young billionaire to expand his Sydney property holding, buying a delapidated property abutting the Bellevue Hill mansion he paid $23 million for last year.
The latest purchase, in Drumalbyn Road, was marketed as a renovation rescue and cost the couple $2.63 million. Spread over 1049 square metres, the property purchase gives Lachlan and wife Sarah, a second road to enter or exit their secluded estate
The couple’s Bellevue Hill mansion, Le Manoir, was a former consulate. It includes a tennis court, pool and garden and is spread over 4097 square metres.
Le Manoir (pictured, right), and the new Drumalbyn Road property (which would be to the left of the boundary marked in the image) are elevated, offering post card water views.
The properties are expected to be amalgamated, and then the main home renovated, seeing the couple are renting another $45 million home around the corner for two years, according to The Brisbane Times.
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LEIGHTON Holdings has made about $95 million from the sale of a tower within its HQ Development in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.
Swiss fund manager AFIAA Foundation for International Real Estate Investments has reportedly purchased the asset.
The twin tower project is due for completion this year.
Read moreThe developer which recently appointed would-be-prime minister Julia Gillard’s partner, Tim Mathieson, to sell its luxury apartments has sought ministerial
Read moreThe Real Estate Institute of Western Australia does not support the recent interest rate rise by the Reserve Bank, believing it will adversely impact on first home buyers.
Read moreThe Real Estate Institute of South Australia held its Annual General Meeting yesterday evening, at which Mr Robin Turner was elected as the President for 2007/08.
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A YARRA Glen farm on land zoned Green Wedge will be converted into “the number one rural tourism attraction in Australia” after the Yarra Ranges Shire Council unanimously approved a $31 million chocolate centre at a prominent corner site.
The major development will be developed on a 15.5 hectare farm on the north-east corner of Old Healesville Road and Melba Highway, about 2.7 kilometres east of the Yarra Glen township and near the Alowyn Gardens.
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A SOUTH African investor is set to reap between $17 million and $25 million, from the sale of an entire apartment block on Bondi Beach, in Sydney’s ritzy east.
The complex at 105 Ramsgate Avenue includes 10 apartments, and the only “boathouse” on Bondi Beach – a small cupboard effectively, big enough for a kayak sized vessel.
The vendor, businessman and developer Neill Miller, is selling the block after obtaining a permit to build three luxury apartments on the site.
Read moreQUEEN Street Mall’s prominent Westpac building has hit the market, and is expected to sell for about $40 million.
The nine-level Brisbane CBD building, developed in the 1930s, has been listed for sale by the family of late property developer Lou Ferro.
The building and an adjoining tower measure more than 6000 square metres, but will not be sold fully occupied.
Read moreTHE ASX-listed Australian Education Trust, controlled by Austock, will sell a portfolio of 30 child care centres across Australia.
The centres will be sold with an average 10 year lease, according to a statement issued by Colliers International, and will be auctioned in a staggered campaign starting late next month.
Colliers International said “the properties provide an institutional grade investment opportunity, with an entry level price [into the commercial property investment market] and attractive yields.”
Read moreFirst home buyers and mortgage-stressed families will be the first to feel the full force of today’s interest rate rise, the Real Estate Institute of SA (REISA) said.
Read moreReports out this week that property taxes have already smashed Treasury’s May budget forecasts, come as no surprise to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia.
Treasury forecasts predict that property-related tax collections will rake in a staggering $2.04 billion from the 2005-06 financial year. This is up from $1.8 billion on previous estimates.
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Adidas will relocate from one Mulgrave office to another. The sports product supplier has signed a 3600 square metre lease
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IN one of the first major CBD office transactions for the year, Eureka Funds Management, on behalf of the Aria Property Trust, has purchased an investment in Sydney.
Allianz Australia, as vendor, is reported to have achieved a sale price of $83.2 million for the 17-level, 14,962 square metre office at 55 Clarence Street.
The building is 98 per cent occupied to tenants including AAPT, Allianz Australia and Gray & Perkins Lawyers.
The sale price reflects a yield of about 8.4 per cent. CB Richard Ellis agents Josh Cullen and Rick Butler negotiated the deal.
Read moreQUEENSLAND’s Village Fair Shopping Centre, in Regents Park, sold today for $17.5 million.
The centre sold on a yield of 8.9 per cent, based on the annual rental of $1.55 million.
Village Fair includes a Supa IGA supermarket and 26 specialty stores.
A statement released by the selling gent this week is copied below:
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Watpac’s Civil & Mining division has successfully bid for $40 million worth of projects in recent months around the country.
Yesterday in Queensland the division was awarded a $30 million contract on the Flinders Street Redevelopment in Townsville.
This major project for the Townsville City Council will see the existing pedestrian mall converted into a roadway and footpaths, reopening the space to vehicular traffic.
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Confidence is booming in Adelaide’s real estate market as prices, rental demand and investment returns continue to flourish, according to the Real Estate Institute of South Australia (REISA).
Read moreThis year REIWA held its annual Awards for Excellence presentations at the gala dinner for the Insight Conference.
President of the Real Estate Institute of Australia, Mr Graham Joyce, presented the awards which give official recognition to the property industry’s top performers.
There are 14 overall categories, but the judges are not obliged to choose a winner in each category if they feel the relevant criteria has not been fully met by nominees.
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CENTRAL Melbourne is set to expand under a new proposal by the Baillieu liberal government.
Dubbed the “Grand CBD” proposal, planning minister Matthew Guy introduced the policy last week. It aims to transform the city into a “Manhattan-style metropolis” five times its present size.
Melbourne’s tallest buildings will be permitted to rise from what are currently factories around Fishermans Bend, a pocket of Port Melbourne, south-east of the CBD, or in an area defined as E-gate, north of Docklands and between the Southern Cross and North Melbourne train station (which is actually in West Melbourne). Using a new Capital City Zone, height restrictions will be abolished.
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NEW plans have been lodged to redevelop the notorious, but rundown Sydney hotel where INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence died.
The former Ritz Carlton hotel – which was later rebranded the Stamford Plaza before closing in 2009 – has been the site of a development dispute for some years.
A previous owner, Ashington, planned to build a high rise mixed use project with a hotel and apartment tower, but could not get its proposal through council.
The hotel sits in Sydney’s exclusive eastern suburb of Double Bay, and the council has been strict, up until now, that developers build within a five level height limit. The Stamford Hotel however is six levels.
Read moreGOLD Coast’s Miami One Shopping Centre has been listed for sale.
Assuming a retail yield of about 8 per cent, the centre would sell at a price of about $22 million.
Below is an announcement about the listing, by the selling agent.
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THE Federal Government has scrapped its blotched $2.45 billion insulation scheme, designed to save jobs – but instead, now looking to cost them.
Environment Minister Peter Garrett announced the scheme’s termination on Friday February 19, describing the risks as “unacceptably high” – and releasing research from as far back as early 2008, warning the hugely expensive program could result in fraud, and house fires.
The Greens Loans program, and solar hot water scheme were also scrapped on Friday.
It’s reported up to 160,000 homes have been fitted with sub-standard ceiling batts “with minimal benefit to the environment”, while around 80,000 households face safety risks.
Perth’s resilient property market has bounced back from its modest slump in June, showing 2.4 per cent growth in price for the September quarter.
Data released today by the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, is expected to show the current median price of $450,000 for the June quarter climbed to around $460,000, up by about $10,000 and marginally below the $465,000 median reached in the March quarter.
Read moreThe Property Council is today calling on local government across South Australia to support a
five point action plan that will green the built environment and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions.
Property Council Executive Director, Nathan Paine said, “A recently released report by the
Australian Sustainability Environment Council (ASBEC) shows that 23 per cent of Australia’s
total greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to the built environment and its users.
IN THE week the Melbourne City Council legislated for higher-density development in the inner north-western suburbs, it can also be revealed Planning Minister Matthew Guy is reviewing plans to replace two historic West Melbourne factories with two landmark apartment buildings – the tallest soaring 44 levels.
The sites, at 371 – 379 Spencer Street and 83 – 113 Batman Street, will be combined to create a new village with a gross floor area of some 85,000 square metres – about the same size as the Rialto.
Proposed by local investment house Bennelong Group, two towers – one rising 39 levels, and another, 29, will be developed atop a five level podium which will include 548 car park bays and 223 bike spaces.
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A HISTORIC property in Currawong Beach, on Sydney’s northern beaches, has sold for $11 million. Eco Villages Australia, owned by
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SURF giant Billabong has paid $10.6 million for the former Cult Industries building at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast.
Cult Industries founder Doug Spong listed the building when his surf company went into voluntary liquidation last year.
ASX-listed Billabong’s international headquarters is next door to the Cult Industries building.
Read moreOFFICE vacancy levels across Australia have increased to a five-year high, but some markets are performing much better than others.
The latest Property Council of Australia Office Market Report, which measures stock and vacancy levels for major office markets (like North Sydney, the Sunshine Coast, and the Melbourne CBD), reports the national vacancy level rose to 8 per cent.
A flood of new office stock totalling 560,000 is set to be developed in major office markets over the next six months – making it the biggest office building boom since 1992 (when vacancy in some office markets surged over 25 per cent).
A SOUTH Yarra development site within the Forrest Hill precinct that is quickly becoming a high-rise apartment compound, has sold for $5.5 million to a consortium of off-shore and local investors.
The 10 Claremont Street residential development (artist impression, right) is one of the areas densest proposals – permitted to rise 17 levels and include 104 flats of which 89 are configured with one bedroom.
When apartments first hit the market for sale last year, one bedroom flats were priced from $350,000.
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PRIVATE investor Kirsh Group has paid a combined price of $153.5 million for two Martin Place, Sydney office towers.
The private group worked with the ASX listed Abacus Property Group to acquire No 14 Martin Place for $95 million. Kirsh purchased 4 Martin Place on its own, for $58.5 million. Wealthy publican Cyril Maloney was the vendor of both properties.
The sales reflect market yields of about 8 per cent.
Last August, Kirsh and Abacus paid $174 million for the Birkenhead Point Shopping Centre and Marina, also in Sydney.
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BUDGET holiday makers are driving a surge in occupancy for humble caravan park accommodation – and many are staying for longer than they have in the past.
A change in the facilities offered by some caravan parks – including pools, playgrounds and tennis courts – has also contributed to the newfound buoyancy.
But so too has a lack of supply – caused by some caravan parks selling to developers, who exploit their often spectacular locations with apartments and commercial facilities.
Australian Bureau of Statistics tourism data showed occupancy levels in Queensland’s caravan parks increased substantially in the year to September 2009, the most recent figures available.
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Publican Rick Munday is offloading eight Victorian hotels – a portfolio worth c$50 million. Up for grabs is Melton’s Golden
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A HISTORIC CBD property, purchased by barristers almost 30 years ago, and occupied as legal industry offices since, is expected to fetch about $5 million at auction next month.
Seabrook Chambers, at 573– 577 Lonsdale Street (pictured, right), was for years a warehouse facility, and later, between 1968 and 1979, home to Seabrook Wines.
Built in 1854, the double-storey bluestone building includes about 979 square metres of lettable office space and sits on an approximate 411 square metre block. It is being sold with vacant possession.
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BILLIONAIRE media and gaming magnate James Packer has received council approval to redevelop a 3369 square metre sloping site in Sydney’s ritzy eastern suburb of Vaucluse.
Mr Packer with wife Erica (picture, above) has acquired three adjoining homes between Wentworth and Victoria roads.
The largest home – a 1970s, unrenovated Guildford Bell designed mansion will be retained (view from pool, right). Mr Packer, through company Monac Developments Pty Ltd, paid $18 million for this home in mid 2009.
Read moreFUND manager GDI Property Group has paid $34.25 million for Brisbane’s 10 Market Street office building.
The 6853 square metre office is in the Brisbane CBD’s “golden triangle”, and its 30 tenants enjoy Brisbane River views from most windows – which will preserve rents.
The building was offloaded by the Heathley Diversified Property Fund, which paid $23.7 million for the office in 2003.
Read moreMACQUARIE Group Limited will sell the majority of its Australian real estate business to the Sydney-based Charter Hall.
Macaquarie will sell the management of two listed trusts – Macquarie Office and Macquarie Countrywide – and three unlisted real estate funds including the Macquarie Direct Property Fund.
Details of the deals are in the Macquarie Group Limited statement below:
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AHEAD of a move to an as-yet-undeveloped facility at Cheltenham, the Returned and Services League is selling its Beaumaris facility in a deal expected to pocket the club around $17 million.
The 1.1 hectare property (aerial shot, right) has a large frontage to exclusive Bolton Street. According to the RSL’s website, the site is 300 metres above sea level at the suburb’s highest point.
The clubhouse, which is expected to be demolished after the sale, is also currently used by the suburb’s Lions Club, Legacy Widows’ Club, and a unit of the Red Cross.
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A major housing estate near the New South Wales/Queensland border is closer to starting with NSW Planning Minister Tony Kelly
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FORMER politician Pauline Hanson will sell her country estate in south-east Queensland, ahead of a move to Britain.
The Coleyville home, Serendipity, is set on 147 acres and is about a 20 minute drive from Ipswich. The home is expected to sell for about $1 million, according to real estate agent Keith Edwards.
In the shape of a Y, the timber and brick home includes eight foot wide verandahs and raked cypress pine ceilings.
Read morePROPERTY and construction services group St Hilliers has announced the appointment of a new chief executive officer, for its Contracting business.
Mr Caddey, ex Citta Property Group (involved in St Kilda’s controversial triangle redevelopment) has also worked for Bovis Lend Lease.
A copy of St Hilliers announcement is below:
THE SUPREME Court will decide whether a Victorian sheriff acted unconscionably when he sold a $630,000 Braybrook house for $1000 at a no-reserve auction.
In an extraordinary deal conducted at the Carlton sherrif’s office in December 2010, retailer Zhiping Zhou had his imposing near-new, six-bedroom home (pictured, right) sold to settle a $93,000 debt – reportedly accrued by another man Zhou had gone guarantor for, who is now based in China.
The court had directed the sheriff sell home be sold at a no-reserve auction after it failed to sell some years ago, Channel Seven reports.
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BECTON Office Fund has sold a North Sydney office to Sydney-based private equity group, Altis Property Partners for $38.25 million.
The office at 2 Elizabeth Plaza spreads over 12 floors and sold on a yield of 10 per cent, according to the AFR, which reported the transaction.
Becton paid $53.9 million for the office investment in February 2007.
Read moreSENTINEL Property Trust has paid $18 million for an industrial building in Archerfield, Brisbane. The fully leased, 14,000 square metre
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OWNERSHIP of the $1.5 billion Direct Factory Outlet retail chain is set to change, after its two main backers, David Goldberger and David Weiland, reportedly “assess their holdings.”
The AFR reports the privately owned business wants “to attract new capital” to see it through the next phase of development. But if the price is right, the whole business could be sold outright, possibly to a larger shopping centre developer.
DFO was introduced in Australia 14 years ago in Moorabbin, and now includes eight centres, three homemaker centres and a potential premium shopping centre site, on the former DFO Spencer Street, in the Melbourne CBD.
Read moreThe Australian Property Growth Fund is expected to reap about $30 million, sources say, for a large Richmond office building which is occupied as offices for Solomon-Lew backed retailer Country Road.
Part of a business park at 658 Church Street, near the Yarra River and South Yarra border, the Country Road headquarters is visible to Citylink commuters around Richmond.
Colliers International director Peter Bremner is marketing the Richmond property, a former electrical substation, with Dawkins Occhiuto’s Andrew Dawkins and Walter Occhiuto.
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IT WILL be the end of another era in Abbotsford when apartment builders redevelop the property known for more than a century as the St Joseph’s Technical School.
The prominent site at 73 – 103 Nicholson Street, at the intersection of Mollison and Little Charles streets, has sold for more than $9 million to a developer.
Operating between 1893 and 1990 under the auspice of the Christian Brothers, and more recently as a campus for Steiner school Sofia Mundi, the 4800 square metre inner-city site was offloaded by the Roman Catholic Trust Corporation for the Diocese of Melbourne.
Read moreA SINGAPORE based real estate trust has paid $166 million for a half share in a major Brisbane office building.
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ALMOST 12,000 Australians who took advantage of the ALP Government’s First Home Owner’s Grant are struggling to meet their mortgage repayments.
Adviser Fujitsu Consulting says 45 per cent of the 26,000 borrowers it surveyed, who had entered the market since mid 2008, were experiencing “mortgage stress” or “severe mortgage stress”.
Mortgage stress refers to a situation where a household spends a third of their income on home loan repayments.
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A near-new, neighbourhood shopping centre on a massive 9.3 hectare site, most of which can’t be redeveloped, sold for $8.4 million last month to a local private investor.
The Yarra Glen Shopping Centre (aerial, right) was one of several Mortgagee Sale campaigns offered last year. A supermarket – leased to Ritchies Supa IGA until 2028 – fills 70 per cent of the 3747 square metre complex which also includes 11 specialty stores.
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MILLIONAIRE businessman Jerry Schwartz is understood to be in negotiations to buy the Fairmont Resort at the Blue Mountains for about $26 million.
The 210-room York Fairmont Resort at Leura is being sold by Deloitte partners, as receivers and managers of Brighten Pty Ltd, the former operator.
Mr Schwartz is a cosmetic surgeon and property owner.
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IF you think the average size of new inner-city apartments has shrunk, you’re right.
And what some are calling a stroke of sustainable genius, others are calling an opportunity to capitalise on supercharged demand by cultures, which have come from environments where relative micro-sized apartments, are the norm.
Australian Institute of Architects president-elect Karl Fender told the AFR two-bedroom apartments of about 50 squares will become the norm.
Until recently – and through building booms in the 1960s, and 2000s – an average one-bedroom apartment would measure between 50 and 60 square metres.
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A RECORD number of social housing is being developed in Queensland this year, as part of the Federal Government’s recent stimulus package.
And the ALP State Government has said it won’t let protesters get in the way of construction.
The Courier Mail reports about 3000 units worth $1.1 billion are set to be developed in the State.
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NEW plans are in the works to redevelop the Box Hill car park which four years ago was earmarked to become suburban Melbourne’s tallest skyscraper.
Developer AXF Group is in discussion with the Whitehorse City Council to build another landmark project at the 545 Station Street site, near the corner of Whitehorse Road and behind the Centro Box Hill shopping centre, which is atop the busy train station.
In 2008, The Age reported plans by the site owner to replace the 2417 square metre site, currently an open-air car park, with a 39-level tower, offering office and retail space, as well as an unconfirmed number of apartments (some of which would have been managed as hotel suites) estimated by some to be a couple of hundred.
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THE Fairfax family plans to demolish a 14-level office in Sydney’s CBD, and replace it with a 32-storey building which would have an end value of about $86 million.
The mixed use project, which would soar 121 metres at its highest, will rise from Pitt Street and include a six level office component, shops and a residential tower.
Fairfax paid $30 million for the approximate 40 year old building, in 1989, according to the AFR.
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The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has urged the Government to review the amount of the First Home Buyers Grant (FHOG) in its Pre-Budget Submission, so that it maintains its relativity to when it was introduced in 2000.
“We are calling on the Government to increase the FHOG to $15,000, for both new and established homes, and then index the grant to median house price movements annually”, said REIA President, Mr David Airey.
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THE Gold Coast mansion of IT tycoon Daniel Tzvetkoff has sold for $17 million.
The Gold Coast’s Bulletin Report says a local businessman has purchased the nearly-completed mega mansion in Hedges Avenue. The six-bedroom home is reported to need another $500,000 spend on renovation, and cost Mr Tzvetkoff about $28 mllion last year.
The mansion includes underground parking for ten cars and occupies four house blocks on Mermaid Beach.
THE Victorian leg of Chain Reaction, the week-long event that has become the commercial real estate sector’s highest profile charitable exercise, starts in Melbourne next month.
The bike challenge, in which members of several agencies and other associated industries are represented, will take participants through 1000 kilometres to Mt Buller and back, and through Ballarat, Heathcote, Nagambie, Violet Town, Whitfield, Mt Buller, Mansfield, Yea and Flowerdale.
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THE ASX listed Brickworks, with the Goodman Group, has sold two major Eastern Creek development sites for $22.1 million, and
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Today the Reserve Bank governer Glenn Stevens made a surprising announcement that the official cash rate was to remain on hold at 3.75%
DEVELOPER Sunland has settled on a $4 million development site at the Pacific Pines residential estate in the Gold Coast.
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ELECTRICITY transmission network owner and operator SP-AusNet can expect to make about $5 million from the sale of two Victorian properties, effectively development sites.
The first site, at 785 Thompsons Road in Lyndhurst in Melbourne’s outer south-east, measures 23.7 hectares and is opposite the Sandhurst Club Golf Course and Links Living residential estate. It’s expected to sell to a residential developer for about $4 million, according to sources.
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Leda Holdings has paid $14 million for an industrial property at Sydney’s Castle Hill. ANZ Specialist Asset Management was the
Read moreCHANGED Foreign Investment Review Board restrictions affecting foreign ownership of real estate in Australia, has resulted in a surge of Malaysian investors, catching the attention of “The Malaysian Inside” today.
Developers in Australia, and the United Kingdom have been “actively wooing” Malaysian investors for various inner-city apartment projects, including the Lumiere Residences in Sydney.
The Australian Trade Commission says Malaysians invested $A4.9 billion in Australian property in 2008, and before the boom of international investors arrived, into 2009.
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SYDNEY-based property developer Lang Walker has paid a speculated $10 million for a 30 hectare parcel of land, once part of Amcor’s Petrie paper mill, in Brisbane.
The off-market transaction is understood to have occurred in May. It’s reported Mr Walker will develop the estate, about 23 kilometres north of Brisbane, in three stages.
“Demand has already proven strong,” Mr Walker told The Australian. “With very limited marketing, we have already sold a third of the stage of the estate to businesses and investors from the local area.”
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ANOTHER development site has hit the market within the vicinity of the recently re-aligned Haymarket roundabout, where North Melbourne connects with Parkville and Carlton.
At 19 – 25 Flemington Road (highlighted, right), next door to a RMIT student village complex that was once the prestigious Apollo Old Melbourne Hotel, the 4000 square metre site is expected to fetch about $20 million and sell to a developer likely to replace the existing c1964 showroom with a landmark apartment tower.
Built for Southern Motors, the asset is being sold by interests associated with that owner-occupier, after being leased to short-term tenants over recent years.
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SYDNEY based developer FKP Property Group has offloaded a Sydney office building for $7.6 million to an undisclosed private investor.
FKP purchased the asset at the start of 2008.
An FKP statement regarding the sale is below:
Read moreLAST year was the weakest year for rental growth since 2002, and the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, according to a new report by Australian Property Monitors.
The latest APM report shows a 2 per cent national increase for rents, down on the rate of 12 per cent, during the “boom” 2007 and 2008 conditions.
The winding down of the first home buyers grant, better employment prospects, strong house price growth and low vacancy rates will all contribute to a stronger year for rental growth in 2010, The Australian reports.
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THE luxurious new Gold Coast mansion of former IT entrepreneur Daniel Tzvetkoff has come on the market.
The 6-bedroom home, built on four house blocks between 33 – 39 Hedges Avenue in Mermaid Beach, will be offered for tender in a campaign closing next month.
Mr Tzvetkoff is reported to have paid $28 million for part-built property in early 2008, which was to have been the home of former tourism entrepreneur Tony Smith.
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SIXTEEN months after it first hit the market, the outgoing Pakenham Racecourse and Showgrounds site is believed to have found a buyer.
Well placed industry sources say the vendor, the Pakenham Racing Club, is set to pocket about $30 million from the sale of the 25.85 hectare property, which abuts the Pakenham train station, about 55 kilometres south-east of town.
The estimated sale price is far less than the reported $38 million developer The Corcoris Group agreed to pay for the site early last year, before withdrawing from the transaction in September.
Read moreAPPROVAL has been granted to develop a $3.8 million mansion on Australia’s richest street, Wolseley Road, Point Piper.
After initially being rejected by the Woollahra Council, the four-storey mansion was approved after council sought legal advice.
The $20 million property’s owner, Indonesian born Julina Lum, had planned to take the redevelopment proposal to the Land and Environmental Court.
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COUNCILS are being forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars protecting historic cemeteries from vandals.
Wollongong City Council is the latest, investing $300,000 on a fence and tree removal.
Vandals target crucifixes and statues, which they smash, and trees and flowers, which they set on fire, according to the Daily Telegraph. Sixty three graves were knocked down at one cemetery alone, in the state’s mid-north.
Read moreBROOKFIELD Multiplex has offloaded Queensland’s Wilsonton Shopping Centre for about $36 million, on a yield of almost 7 per cent.
The shopping centre is expected to be revamped, under plans by its new owner, Brisbane-based private developer Kilcor Group.
Brookfield purchased the shopping centre in April 2006.
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THE Yarra City Council has approved the $400 million redevelopment of Channel Nine’s long-time Bendigo Street studios, in Melbourne’s inner east.
TWO retail assets in Campasie, Sydney, have sold to Asian investors.
In the biggest deal a property at 266 – 272 Beamish Street sold after auction for $3.69 million reflecting a yield of 3.9 per cent.
It included four ground floor shops, two office units and a residential component and had an internal building area of 826 square metres.
Read moreCENTRO Properties has appointed current non-executive director Robert Tsenin as its new group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director.
Mr Tsenin will formally commence his duties as Group CEO in Melbourne on 1 March 2010, replacing current Group CEO Glenn Rufrano.
Read moreAS part of its plan to build a $90 million bus depot, the Brisbane City Council has paid $16.5 million
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THE Ascot Vale home where underworld figure Desmond “Tuppence” Moran was nearly killed sold at auction this weekend for $1.105 million.
The Langs Road home, opposite the northern boundary of the Flemington Racecourse and near the Flemington suburb border, is on a super-sized 1020 square metre block, and includes a historic large home with postcard Melbourne CBD skyline views.
It is not known whether the new owner will restore the salmon pink home, or replace it with a newer home. According to the Herald Sun, about $600,000 from the sale will be confiscated under the proceeds-of-crime laws.
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DEVELOPMENT and investment giant Goodman Group has snared Metcash as a major industrial tenant.
Metcash will lease a new $129 million facility in Goodman’s Bungarribee Industrial Estate in Blacktown, in Sydney’s west.
Metcash will consolidate from five Sydney locations to occupy the new 82,015 Blacktown facility.
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