Singaporean land banker spends $13m for block at Collingwood’s east edge

Last December RACV paid the founders of Nationwide Towing and Transport $15 million for the Melbourne Impound Yard, on a 2016 square metre Commercial 2 zoned site at 34-44 Cromwell Street.

A Singaporean investor who sees Collingwood as likely to take off in the short and medium term has spent $13 million for a Commercial 1 zoned site to land bank.

The 1538 square metre holding is also one of the suburb’s more prominent; its eastern edge facing busy Hoddle Street.

Known, however, as 106-120 Gipps St – it also fronts Islington and Hood streets.

Peter Hart recently applied to build an eight level office on three Collignwood sites which cost $10 million, between 6-10 Peel Street.

Colliers International’s Peter Bremner and Andrew Ryan with TT Global’s Tony Tai were the marketing agents.

The purchaser was represented by Intergen Property Group’s Dennis Kalofonos.

The Collingwood property

The 106-120 Gipps St property contains two low rise commercial buildings with a total lettable area of 1595 sqm.

Two business – Absafe Pty and Metz Specialty Materials Pty Ltd – rent them, and will at least until 2022.

“The…sale was agreed and in due diligence throughout the period March-July, 2020, so during COVID-19 conditions and the price did not change throughout,” Mr Bremner said.

“The buyer was attracted by the income from the two tenants, the large site area with three street frontages, the highly exposed corner location in the emergent market of Collingwood and the zoning being Commercial 1.

“Collingwood is a market that our clients are really starting to understand and get comfortable about from a commercial or residential perspective,” the executive added (story continues below).

Recent Collingwood deals and developments

Elsewhere in the suburb, in March, AUS Finance Group sold RF CorVal an 11-storey, 8600 sqm commercial building under construction at 71-93 Gipps St, for $75.5m.

Two months later, DKO and Slab won approval to replace a 468 sqm Commercial 2 zoned site, 19 Down St, with an eight floor office.

In mid-June, UEM Sunrise outlaid $43m for a collection of modern car yards covering 5390 sqm on the south west corner of Langridge and Hoddle streets – with intentions for a high-density residential based village.

A week later an owner occupier spent $8.4m on a low-rise warehouse on 1200 sqm at 163-165 Islington St.

Last Tuesday we reported Peter Hart was seeking to replace 6-10 Peel St with an eight-floor commercial structure.

The local investor spent $10m amalgamating the three properties which will make way for that project.

The RACV, it was also reported, last December spent $15m on the Melbourne Impound Yard at 34-44 Cromwell St (also gazetted Commercial 2).

“The buyer [of 106-120 Gipps St] was happy to sit on the income and landbank and just wanted a foothold into a market that he sees as really taking off in the short and medium term,” Mr Bremner said.

“The majority of Collingwood, if not the City of Yarra, is zoned Commercial 2 but these last two sales (Colliers also sold the UEM Sunrise property)…were both zoned Commercial 1 which just opens up the future should a buyer elect to develop down the track”.

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Marc Pallisco

A former property analyst and print journalist, Marc is the publisher of realestatesource.com.au.