Kennards locks onto former Masters hardware store site
Kennards Self Storage has bought one of the last unused Masters hardware stores, at Roxburgh Park in Melbourne’s north, for $35 million in a deal with ASX-listed HMC Capital.
The 5.4-hectare property on Pascoe Vale Road was sold off-market by HMC Capital, formerly known as Home Consortium, after it became surplus to their plans.
The off-market deal was brokered by Savills’ Peter Tyson, Callum Stenson and Rick Silberman.
Led by David Di Pilla, Home Consortium bought out the former Masters property portfolio from Woolworths for $725 million in 2016 as a private entity, and subsequently floated itself as a property trust.
The former hardware store developed by Masters is 13,000 square metres in gross floor area, with 362 car parks.
Kennards is aiming to redevelop the site through a mixed-use scheme with retail, fast food, and self-storage. The self-storage centre will occupy most of the building, while retail users will fill spaces facing the car park. Three retailers already occupy a part of the building.
“When complete, it will be a flagship for the company in Melbourne’s growing northern suburbs,” chief executive Sam Kennard said.
“We will equip with it the latest generation of technology and design thinking to provide customers with the easiest, cleanest and most secure storage experience possible.”
Kennards will take up 9,000 square metres of the existing building with an expansive two-level self-storage facility, making it one of the company’s largest with over 12,500 square metres of rentable area and over 1,300 storage spaces.
In the Kennards plan, surplus car parking will be redeveloped for drive-through restaurants. The Roxburgh Park centre will boost Kennards’ footprint in Melbourne’s north, where it has an existing facility at Preston centre and is building a centre at Craigieburn.
Kennards is also developing facilities in Cranbourne, Pakenham and Brunswick and bought a storage centre in Rosebud in January.
In May, the self-storage player announced it will partner with Rich Lister Tim Gurner to develop jointly an upmarket residential and retail project in the Adelaide CDB. Kennards acquired the Adelaide Mail Centre two years ago, which will be converted into self-storage, while the surplus land will be developed into four residential towers and a hotel.
“Roxburgh Park is another adventurous project for our business,” Mr Kennard said.
“We have a growing list of mixed-use assets and developments. This strategy has enabled us to realise better value, superior returns and secure exceptional locations”.
