Former Melbourne apple orchard ripe for $90m picking

A former private apple orchard on Melbourne’s fringe is ripe for the picking and the juicy deal could reach more than $90 million when the property is sold off next month.

The 149,608sqm site 30km east of Melbourne’s CBD is considered one of the most mouth-watering opportunities on offer in Victoria in years.

The sale comes after the property has been recently rezoned, paving the way for hundreds of dwellings including medium to high-density projects up to five levels.

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Located at 1201-1211 High Street Rd, Wantirna South, in the highly desirable eastern corridor, the property last hit the market in 1922 when it was snapped up by Arthur Scourfield Jenkins.

Unlike other family farms in the area, which have been sold off piece by piece amid encroaching suburbia, the orchard remains intact and now presents a delicious opportunity for both local and offshore developers.

Savills Australia’s Nick Peden, Clinton Baxter, Jesse Radisich and Benson Zhou are brokering the deal and say they expect fierce competition from a range of buyers.

“This is the most significant Melbourne metropolitan landholding to be offered to the market in recent years,” Peden says.

The Wantirna South site spans almost 150,000sqm.

“The area is set to go from strength to strength in response to the city’s forecast population growth, with developers scrambling to keep up with unprecedented levels of housing demand.”

“We anticipate extremely strong interest from all the major local developers, such as Mirvac, Lend Lease and Stockland, together with a multitude of highly capable Asia-based groups that have been actively searching Melbourne for such an opportunity.”

The well-positioned land is 2km from the heart of Glen Waverley and close to Australia’s third-largest shopping centre, Westfield Knox.

It comes after nearby developments have experienced dizzying market success in recent years.

Families and home buyers flocked to snap up one of the 906 lots available at Mirvac’s $450 million Harcrest development, on the former Brickworks site.

It achieved a complete sellout in 2016.

The more recent Wantirna Rise project down the road saw 113 residential plots bought in one day.

This latest opportunity will not only accommodate residential development, but also could include retail stores, a supermarket, childcare, aged care and medical facilities.

Expressions of interest close July 6 at 2pm.