St Hilliers to Sell Coburg Industrial Asset
Sources say two separate owner occupiers outbid developers for office warehouses at 146 and 148 Sussex Street, in the city’s north. Combined the factories are spread over 4 hectares and have three street frontages.
St Hillier’s bought the property from Caroma Industries, a subsidiary of GWA International, in July 2005 for about $10.35 million. Caroma, which owned the site, signed a five-year leaseback as part of the sale. However sources say, Caroma terminated that lease late last year and paid itself out of the contract. St Hilliers promptly put the property on the market with vacant possession.
Knight Frank director Anthony Cementon marketed the property with James Templeton and Jones Lang LaSalle’s Rob Mirabello and Nicholas Ott. All agents declined to comment, as did a representative from St Hilliers, when approached by Capital Gain.
The sale is one of the most significant in Coburg since Babcock & Brown paid $40 million for the 27-hectare former Kodak factory in Elizabeth Street nearby.
Earlier this week the Moreland City Council invested in its future, calling for an expression of interest to develop 12 hectares of council owned, or controlled land around Sydney Road – in a move which is hoped will eventually attract more rate paying residents and businesses to Coburg.
