Riverlea – realestatesource

Former PM Residence, St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Listed For Sale

Marc Pallisco — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:00:37 +0000

Most of those homes have been demolished in the past half century to make way for office buildings which are now amongst the cheapest in Melbourne to buy or lease. Increasingly these offices are being replaced with apartment towers.

Some historic mansions have remained around the precinct but, like Airlie, had their side and back yards sliced, diced, developed, subdivided and sold.

In June 2007, Queens Road based developer Asian Pacific Building Corporation paid $12 million for the 452 St Kilda Road estate, which included a development permit for what was a car park, behind the mansion.

Airlie was previously the headquarters of the Royal District Nursing Service, and also the office of investor and developer Clement Lee, who owned the asset for a period.

On land behind Airlie, APBC has since developed the Blackman Hotel, an 18 -level, 209-unit tower.

It also embarked on a lavish restoration of the historic mansion, and taken the unusual step of marketing Airlie concurrently with commercial and residential agents targeting very different types of buyers.

What are bedrooms to agency Kay & Burton, who are marketing the asset as a prestige home, are boardrooms to CB Richard Ellis, whose floorplan suggests a 700 square metre luxury office which may attract corporate through to consulates.

The mansion is expected to fetch about $8 million for APBC, which is also selling retail investments at the ground floor of the Blackman Hotel (expected to fetch another $4 million) and the Kings Business Park in South Melbourne, which has price expectations of about $110 million. It’s expected APBC will eventually sell some Blackman Hotel suites to private investors.

Around the corner, a consortium including Macquarie is planning to demolish the 107-year old Avalon mansion at 70 Queens Road. Avalon is one of the only surviving homes by prominent architect William Pitt, who also designed the Princes Theatre and Olderfleet buildings in town. A 12-level 91-unit apartment complex, Proximity, will be developed on that site.

Clement Lee’s Riverlea to Build Apartment Complex at 108 Flinders Street Melbourne

Marc Pallisco — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 04:23:46 +0000

HERITAGE Victoria noted artwork at the ground level of a nondescript, low-rise office building at 108 Flinders Street will be moved, and reinstalled into the ground level of the city’s next major apartment building.

Fender Katsalidis Architects, a boutique architect collaboration headed by designers Karl Fender and Nonda Katsalidis, have proposed a new tower for the site which would offer views of Birrarung Marr, Federation Square and the Flinders Street rail yards – another city site earmarked for redevelopment.

Rising 12 levels, and due for completion in 2012 the development will include 189 apartments starting at $345,000 for a one bedroom unit and $535,000 for a two bedroom flat.

The proposal will see a new restaurant built at the end of AC/DC Lane, which this site backs onto.

Victorian Government Reaps $40 Million From Sale of Old Melbourne Convention Centre

Marc Pallisco — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 04:04:54 +0000

The centre was replaced with a $1 billion facility on the southern side of the Yarra River.

A $100 million development is also mooted for the riverfront World Trade Centre site, with Victoria Police speculated as a possible office tenant.

In 1997 The Victorian Government paid $176 million for the old Melbourne Convention Centre leasehold of the building and a car park.

Clement Lee is prominent within Melbourne property circles as a property investor. Recently he has expanded the Riverlea company’s residential arm, proposing a 12-level, 189-unit apartment complex to replace an office at 108 Flinders Street.

Defunct Melbourne Convention Centre to be Sold as Development Site