Pask Group buys Mickleham farm held by family for 84 years
A lucky farming family has struck a windfall playing the long game.
Queensland developer Pask Group has acquired about a third of a 25.8 hectare Mickleham farm held by the vendor for 84 years but offered for sale last August.
The rural holding, in an area surrounded by housing estates being developed by some of the nation’s biggest builders, was expected to sell for as much as $50 million.
Pask Group is buying an 8.8 hectare slice – being the front of the farm site, with access to Mickleham Road.
Vendors – brothers Edward, Garry and Keith Troutbeck – told realestate.com.au in this item that they were sad to leave the property their parents acquired a few months before they were married in the mid-1930s for £500.
At the time, Mickleham, which is about 32 kilometres north of the Melbourne CBD, had many dairy farms.
Now, the brothers said, all the land around them had been sold to [residential] builders, at rates which value the land on their potential for residential development.
Amongst the developers in the area is Sydney-based institution Stockland, which is marketing its Highlands Community in stages.
MAB and Gibson Property Group, both headquartered in Melbourne, are building Merrifields, which includes a housing estate and major employment precinct (in March, we reported that German hypermarket Kaufland acquired a 28-hectare site in Merrifields to build a 115,000 square metre distribution centre).
Perth-based Satterley is also developing a residential village in Mickleham.
Jason Real Estate’s Jason Sassine marketed 1630 Mickleham Road for the Troutbeck brothers.
The family will run their farming business at another rural property they own further north of Mickleham.
Deal comes eight months after Neville Pask’s passing
Pask Group founder Neville Pask – himself from a rural family – died last February, aged 87.
The developer made his money predominantly from dry cleaning businesses operated since the 1960s, then later, by venturing out into both residential and commercial building.
Pask Group invested nationally.
At the time of his death, Mr Pask was Queensland’s fourth richest person.
Just over 20 years ago, Mr Pask built the Sovereign Crest master-planned estate in Rowville, about 27 kilometres south-east of the Melbourne CBD. The 670-lot subdivision returned Pask Group a profit of $50 million.
