Melbourne Convention site reaps $100m
The market for major apartment sites in the heart of Melbourne is running hot with the old Melbourne convention site that overlooks the Yarra River close to selling for almost $100 million.
The development site, known as Proxima Melbourne, has been put under contract by private group Nuway Wy Pty Ltd, which could add to the surging volume of units on the market by launching up to 1100 apartments.
The site’s vendors, Eureka Funds Management and Clement Lee’s Asset 1, are well placed to reap a gain on the holding, which they picked up for about $40 million in 2010 from the Victorian government.
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The 8500sqm is viewed as an important marker for the CBD market and could boost confidence in the prospects of other sites that are being offered.
The Hong Kong-backed purchaser could get started on the $1 billion project quickly as Proxima won masterplan approval for the three-tower design by architects Elenberg Fraser in May and demolition works have begun.
JLL’s Robert Anderson and CBRE’s Mark Wizel brokered the deal but could not be contacted to discuss the deal, which has been registered on site’s title documents.
There has been a shortage of major development sites offered for sale in Melbourne this year but the industry has seen a major uptick in demand from offshore developers, who have been waiting for quality sites.
The year’s other major transaction came in May when Malaysian development giant SP Setia seized its fifth project in Australia, buying a key site in Melbourne’s Exhibition Street from Telstra and flagging the launch of a landmark $640 million mixed-use project.
There has been almost $300 million worth of development site sales in Melbourne over the past two months.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
