Zagame family offers prominent Abbotsford office for lease after swank refurbishment
EXCLUSIVE
Five months after paying the Australian Education Union Victorian division $21 million for one of Abbotsford’s highest character buildings, the Zagame family is looking for occupiers.
The c1927 red brick warehouse converted office at 112-124 Trenerry Crescent is available as a whole (4252 square metres) or on a floor-by-floor basis (with areas ranging in size between 954 sqm and 1136 sqm).
Originally known as the Austral Silk and Cotton Mills building, the property, four kilometres north-east of the Melbourne CBD, is undergoing a swank refurbishment due for completion in the third quarter of this year.
The renovation includes:
- A full refurbishment of the imposing entrance;
- Complete upgrade of the bathroom facilities;
- New floor coverings, with carpet, exposed polished concrete and polished floorboards; and
- The installation of high-grade end-of-trip facilities, with showers, changerooms and lockers.
The warehouse occupies a relatively small footprint of the 4735 sqm land holding.
Abutting the Yarra River, the western side of the building captures vistas over Dights Falls.
The AEU occupied 112-124 Trenerry Crescent as its headquarters, and partly as a landlord, after paying $8.5 million for it in 1998.
In 2011, the union spent $15.2 million for the office next door (126 Trenerry Crescent), where it is now based.
Three years ago, the AEU successfully applied to have both properties rezoned to allow for residential development.
This move, which ballooned site value, was part of the reason the Zagame family had to contest 15 parties for 112-124 Trenerry Crescent when it was listed for public sale in February.
Marketing agency Fitzroys said suitors following that campaign included local and offshore apartment developers as well as office owner-occupiers.
Knight Frank’s Adam Jones and James Treloar with JLL’s Matt Szakiel and Matt Brown-Greaves are handling the leasing campaign for Fife Capital which is representing the Zagame family.
The agent’s listing ends speculation that the building might be re-purposed as a hotel in the short or medium term.
Last month we reported, exclusively, that another Zagame family owned office in Caulfield East, and until recently occupied by Steller Group, which this week went into receivership, is for lease.
This office at 840 Dandenong Road was formerly occupied by Glenvill Homes.
Today, we are also reporting, exclusively, that United Petroleum co-founder Eddie Hirsch has launched a leasing campaign for an Abbotsford office: 218-228 Hoddle Street is being marketed as the suburb’s “greenest, cleanest” commercial building.
