Next step for landmark Geelong CBD building that was demolished

Belchers Corner on the intersection of Ryrie and Moorabool Streets is listed for sale as a development opportunity.

A landmark Geelong CBD property where a building was forcibly demolished by the local council has been put up for sale as a mixed use development opportunity.

The campaign to sell the property markets a step toward a long awaited new chapter for the landmark Belchers Corner at the intersection of Ryrie St and Moorabool St.

The corner has become a massive gap in the CBD landscape after the historic building was demolished under an order from Geelong’s council, with a mural on the boundary hoarding the only effort to beautify the area.

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Now potential developers are seeing the beauty in the 1081sq m land area at 135 Ryrie St, Geelong, which has been listed for sale in a campaign managed by LAWD Development Transactions and Advisory directors Paul Callanan and Lukas Byrns.

Expressions of interest are due to close on November 13 and the property is being quoted with price expectations from $4.5m to $5m.

A hoarding sporting a mural painted by a local artist Vicki Clissold surrounds the vacant portion of the 1081sq m Belchers Corner property at 135 Ryrie St, Geelong.

Mr Byrns said although the campaign was in early days, the property’s public listing had already attracted the attention of potential Geelong and Melbourne-based national developers.

“It’s a great site. Obviously a prominent site and we’re really excited to bring it to market,” he said.

The most likely end use would be a mixed use hotel or apartments with some ground and first-floor retail, Mr Byrns said.

“We think there is a real opportunity for a significant retailer to go in there and we’re hoping that happens.”

An image from real estate agents LAWD displasy the key position of Belcher’s Corner within Geelong’s CBD.

Central Geelong has attracted significant interest from major developers with a development pipeline showing more than 2000 dwellings approved and close to 1000 delivered.

Tower cranes again dot the skyline as several major CBD projects emerge from the ground.

The property offers a 1081sq m land holding with a broad Activity Centre zoning and includes two existing buildings fronting each street.

The development potential includes mixed uses such as residential, retail, education, medical, office and co-living, subject to council approval.

Scaffolding being erected around the main Belchers Corner building ahead of its demolition. Picture: Alan Barber

The site has a 67m street frontage on Ryrie and Moorabool streets in a prime location close to Market Square and Westfield Geelong shopping centres.

According to the Central Geelong Framework Plan, the preferred building height on the site is 21m, within a guide that calls for street setbacks and limits to shadowing.

Geelong’s council will keenly await the outcome of the sale, with legal provisions in place to recoup $4.1m spent to at first stabilise, monitor, report and ultimately demolish the main building.