Council is expecting a massive deal for Geelong carpark
Geelong’s Civic Car Park has been listed for private auction. The 4082sq m site has 170m of street frontages.
Geelong’s council could be looking at a payday of more than $20m when it puts the Civic Centre carpark up for auction next month.
City Hall has listed the 21 Gheringhap St multistorey car park for sale.
Colliers, Geelong agents Andrew Lewis, Chris Nanni and Ben Young are handling the campaign, culminating in a private auction on December 21.
The carpark, built in the 1970s, is one of four key assets councillors want to sell.
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An estimate puts the potential value of the property at above $20m.
The 4082sq m landholding is a significant footprint in Geelong’s central business district between the new office towers north of Malop St and Geelong’s arts precinct.
Buyers must maintain the 503 commercial parking spaces for at least 10 years under a term in the contract, which, along with ground floor tenancies on Lt Malop St, could generate more than $2m a year income.
Geelong’s Civic Centre carpark has been listed for private auction.
The 4082sq m landholding is a key strategic development site in central Geelong.
A planning framework wants any development to active all street frontages, including Lt Malop St and Gheringhap St.
A planning framework wants any development to active all street frontages, including Lt Malop St and Gheringhap St.
Mr Young said that would give the potential Geelong and Melbourne bidders time to devise and seek approval the ultimate plan for the site.
“Major developers looking to hold the property for a minimum of 10 years as a car park that can see the enormous upside in redeveloping the site,” Mr Young said.
“It gives them time to a do a scheme on that site, whether it’s one or two interconnecting towers, because you’ve got the major street frontages.”
Civic Centre carpark is identified in the draft central Geelong framework plan as a key development site with potential to build up to 28m, or eight storeys, but would need to reactivate the Gheringhap St frontage.
The car park has a 170m frontage to Gheringhap St and Lt Malop St, including a 20m stretch of Malop St.
“It’s rare in any CBD really,” Mr Young said.
“It suits itself to having potentially two towers on it with those dual frontages.”
Geelong’s Civic Centre carpark site at 21 Gheringhap St is identified as a key strategic development site within the CBD retail precinct.
The north view from the roof of the Civic Centre carpark toward the WorkSafe and NDIS headquarters in central Geelong.
The 20m frontage to Malop St.
Along with the Civic Centre carpark, councillors want to sell the Busport carpark in Brougham St, a Reynolds Rd, Belmont site containing the Geelong tenpin bowling centre, a maternal child and health centre and a carpark and land at 200 Princes Hwy, Corio containing a KFC restaurant.
Mayor Trent Sullivan said it was a significant landholding for the City.
“The auction will raise funds for critical infrastructure and help to meet the needs of our growing population,” Mr Sullivan said.
Deputy mayor Anthony Aitken said cashing out of these assets would help the council live within its means.
“To help balance upcoming budgets, reduce our borrowing levels and invest in other community projects, it makes financial sense to sell properties that council doesn’t need to own,” Mr Aitken said.
The council has raised $32m in asset sales in recent years, such as the old Geelong Gaol to Dean Montgomery for $1.5m and the old Geelong Post Office to developer Bill Votsaris for $4.4m.
Homeless charity The Outpost has become a casualty as the council readies Busport for sale.
But the charity will get help to secure a new home after the state government and Liberal opposition promised $50,000 to aid in finding a new home.
The private auction is scheduled for December 21 at noon.
