Leonard Joel's auction house sells for bullish $17m

The 1443 sq m double-storey schoolhouse is on a large 3105 square metre site at 333 Malvern Road.

The family company sold the property in 2015 for $8 million to a syndicate led by Hickory Group founder, Michael Argyrou.

Stonebridge Property Group agents Julian White, Chao Zhang and Rorey James lead the expressions of interest sale process.

The gothic school, built in 1874 and designed by Crouch and Wilson, was closed in the mid-1990s with most of the playground turned over to housing.

Mr White said bids came from occupiers, investors and developers.

“Of the top four bidders, two were Melbourne-based occupiers, one a Sydney-based investor and the fourth, a locally based Asian-backed developer, which highlights the diversity.”

Au revoir

French language and cultural body, Alliance Francaise, is poised to sell Eildon, the grand St Kilda mansion it has called la maison for the past 15 years.

Expressions of interest close this week for the property at 51 Grey Street which AF bought in 2006 for $4.15 million.

After two years of lockdowns it is now surplus to needs and back on the market with expectations between $8-8.8 million.

Allard Shelton agent Joseph Walton, who is handling the deal with Christian Hatzis and Abercromby’s Tim Derham and Jock Langley, said the listing had created a lot of interest with potential educational, commercial and accommodation users.

“If it were in any of the adjoining suburbs like Toorak, Armadale or Brighton, it would be worth up to $25 million,” Mr Walton said.

The 10-bedroom Victorian Italianate mansion is on a 2203 sq m site and was built early in the Gold Rush in 1853.

It was a 100-bed backpacker hostel the last time it changed hands.

Punt Hill

Up on the Punt Road Hill another historic boomtime mansion, Glenhope, is for sale.

The property at 466 Punt Road, in the Domain precinct, has been the Millswyn medical clinic since the 1990s.

Glenhope was built in 1887 by Robert Paxton and remained in family hands until it was bought by the Warsaw Jewish Committee in 1951 for £17,200.

It’s on a 1777 sq m site and has a short-term lease expiring in December 2022.

Fitzroys’ agents David Bourke and Chris James have the listing. It’s expected to sell for around $5.5 million.

“There’s so much potential for this site. There’s enormous scope to repurpose the property for a range of uses, including for medical or childcare, boutique residential accommodation or for redevelopment,” Mr Bourke said.

Parcel with permit

An investor has splashed out more than $10 million for a Prahran development site but with no plans to develop it.

The 1200 sq m site at 476-478 High street, on the corner of Pakington Street, came with a permit for an apartment development which held no attraction for buyers.

The property was zoned residential at the back and commercial at the front which limited development possibilities.

Teska Carson agent Luke Bisset, who handled the transaction with Michael Ludski, said “the purchaser intends to hold the asset as an investment with no plans for redevelopment.”

The property attracted eight offers from a mix of investors, owner-occupiers and developers.

The 1100 sq m warehouse has two tenants – PETstock and Bed Depot – on short-term leases ending in August, paying $173 a sq m.

It’s understood a new tenant, originally interested in making the acquisition, will move into the property.

Jones’ office

Jones Real estate agent Paul Jones has snapped up a level 8 of 1 Elizabeth Street, a 170sq m strata office overlooking Flinders Street railway station and Southbank.

Mr Jones paid $1.6 million for the whole floor office which was sold by not-for-profit group Carry On Victoria.

The charity has been ensconced in the 11-storey building, formerly Hosies Hotel, since 1989. The sale will fund housing for returned soldiers.

Colliers’ Anthony Kirwan, George Davies and Alexander Leggo negotiated the sale. Six offers were made for the property which sold at a building rate of $9,412 a sq m.

Tassie calling

A Tasmanian buyer has knocked out competition for an historic South Melbourne shop before it even went to auction.

Colliers agents George Davies and Alexander Leggo sold 392 Clarendon Street a week before its scheduled auction for $3.15 million – $400,000 over its expected price.

The three-storey shop has only had three other owners in the past 165 years.

There is a seven-year lease in place to Body Freedom Urban Spa & Clinic with three five-year options. It sold on a yield of 4.04 per cent.

Mr Davies said “The successful purchaser flew up from Tasmania at 10am last Friday, inspected at 12pm, put an offer forward at 2pm, and had the property secured and sold by 10pm that night. The property was off-loaded by local investors that held the property for over 18 years.”

Sale magnified

The Richmond home of collapsed printing company Magnify Media is up for sale.

Magnify Media did not survive the first year of the pandemic and went into liquidation early in 2021. The 1392 sq m three-level office warehouse has a short-term lease in place.

The 819 sq m property neighbours a high profile development site at 175 Burnley Street which sold for nearly $17 million last year.

CBRE agents David Minty, Nathan Mufale, Scott Hawthorne and JJ Heng and Gross Waddell ICR’s Michael Gross, Andrew Waddell and Raoul Salter are running the expressions of interest campaign.

It is expected to fetch around $5 million based on the $8500 a sq m price achieved by its neighbour last August.

However, vendor Peregrine Projects had obtained a permit for a nine-level office building on the site which added to its value.

During the week, Peregrine Projects sold the Sarah Sands pub at a Burgess Rawson portfolio auction, picking up $8.75 million for the hospitality space remaining after the 31-apartment residential development was completed.