Historic Melbourne House sold, set for refurb
Roxy Pacific has sold the historic Melbourne House, also the former Leo Cussen Centre for Law headquarters, after eight years.
The unrenovated vacant six storey office at 354-360 Little Bourke Street, one holding west of Elizabeth, found favour with a Sydney investor and developer for $23 million.
Permit ready for a 14 level hotel – an 10,822 square metre extension – the incoming owner is instead expected to refurbish and relet the existing improvement, with 4650 sqm.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Oliver Hay, Daniel Wolman and Leon Ma with JLL’s Tim Carr, Josh Rutman and Jesse Radisich brokered the off-market deal after an unsuccessful public campaign two years ago.
Forgettable asset for Roxy
Developed c1932, the Chicagoesque Melbourne House occupies 937 sqm.
The Leo Cussen Institute, as it was then known, paid $3.8m in 1992, occupying until selling to Roxy for $33.07m.
In 2018, the Singapore owner won permission to raze the building for a 23 level, 322-key hotel.
It also locked in another Singapore based business, Park Hotel Group, to run it.
However following a high-profile community campaign to save the shell, Roxy in 2021 redesigned a proposal, with the airspace to make way for an eight level extension.
It wasn’t so lucky for the long-time former Melbourne Theosophical Society headquarters, developed in 1923 as the Olympia car showroom, on Russell St, which razed during COVID for a 15 storey, 191-key 5-star hotel, trading a Hyde Hotel, an Ennismore brand, after a brief period known as Melbourne Place.
Coincidentally that building also sold this year – to Ark Capital Partner and Lead Global, backed by Pioneer Wealth.
The Theosophical Society is now headquartered at Manchester Lane on Collins St – another historic space. Leo Cussen meanwhile is at 15 William St.
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