Geelong: The quirky feature set to stay as law firm buys Geelong landmark

79-81 Moorabool St, Geelong. Law firm Arnold Thomas & Becker is planning to redevelop the building as its Geelong office.

Injury law firm Arnold Thomas and Becker has secured a Geelong landmark for its new local headquarters.

The firm has paid $3.15 million for Victoria House, a seven-storey office building built in the 1970s at 79-81 Moorabool St, and is set to spend even more on a significant makeover in the next year.

Managing partner Lee Flanagan said the firm was thrilled to secure a permanent site in Geelong.

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“We’ve been looking for the right place for over a year and when this building came on the market, we moved quickly to secure it,” he said.

“We have a significant number of clients in the region, and our local team has grown, so we were keen to find a space that could grow with us and provide us with a local base.”

79-81 Moorabool St, Geelong. Law firm Arnold Thomas & Becker is planning to redevelop the building as its Geelong office.

Mr Flanagan said the extensive redevelopment of the existing building would seek transform it into a modern workplace in how it looks and feels, and how it is used.

“The seven-level building will celebrate the best of Geelong, and there may be scope to develop the site to accommodate tenancies for local businesses,” he said.

“We do however hope to retain the quirky spelling V CTORIA HOU E on the building, as it’s become a recognised landmark in Geelong,” he said.

The letters I and S had fallen off the building in past decades.

79-81 Moorabool St, Geelong. Law firm Arnold Thomas & Becker is planning to redevelop the building as its Geelong office.

Mr Flanagan said a recognised architectural firm would be engaged for the design.

They expect the building to be completed in 2023.

“We have a number of staff living in Geelong and currently working in some of our Melbourne branches, so this new site provides a great opportunity for our local workforce to reduce their travelling time, and to offer them an engaging and collaborative workplace,” Mr Flanagan said.

Arnold Thomas & Becker has been operating in Geelong for several years, with an office Geelong West led by practice manager Jodie Harris, who excited about the amount of job opportunities opening in the city.

79-81 Moorabool St, Geelong. Law firm Arnold Thomas & Becker is planning to redevelop the building as its Geelong office.

Gartland, Geelong agent Michael De Stefano said the 305sq m property has a ground floor plus five additional levels and an additional rooftop area. Floorplates measure 190sq m each.

“It’s a boost in confidence in the Geelong market,” Mr De Stefano said.

“We had a number of interested parties through there over a short campaign. It was on the market for 10 days.”

The building stands next to 83 Moorabool St, home to Bendigo Bank and radio stations KRock and Bay FM, which has undergone a significant upgrade in recent years and opposite 60 Moorabool St, the nine-level tower built for health insurer GMHBA and other tenants.

79-81 Moorabool St, Geelong. Law firm Arnold Thomas & Becker is planning to redevelop the building as its Geelong office.

“I think the result is outstanding in terms of what they plan to do with the building and make it their home and help gentrify that area of Moorabool St,” Mr De Stefano said.

“It starts that journey of continued infrastructure and development spend.

“What was a derelict building for many years is now going to get new life into it.”