Novotel and Ibis tower to fetch $180m as Singaporeans exit Melbourne

The hotel, which opened in 2018, is located on the fringe of the Hardware Lane precinct at 399 Little Lonsdale Street near Hardware Lane.

CBRE agents Wayne Bunz, Scott Callow and Michael Simpson have the listing, which is offered on a sale and lease back basis. Expressions of interest close on April 13.

A Well Smart spokesperson said sale proceeds would be used to fund projects at Airlie Beach and Queenstown in New Zealand.

It’s the second Ibis sold by Well Smart this year. A three-star hotel on Elizabeth Street sold for a bargain price of $25 million last month.

Art Deco

Brunei businessman King Chin Goh is selling a three-storey Art Deco office at the West Melbourne end of King Street.

The building at 363 King Street fronts the southern hilly side of the Flagstaff Gardens.

Records show Mr Goh bought the building for $18 million in 2018. It is expected to fetch more than $22 million.

The 2800 square metre building is on a generous 1054 sq m parcel of land, close to private school Haileybury’s city campus.

Colliers agents Oliver Hay, Daniel Wolman, Matt Stagg and Tom Issakson are handling the transaction.

Down the other end of King Street at No.10, an investor has paid $3.3 million for a two-storey building leased to the King Curry restaurant.

CBRE agents Alex Brierly, Nathan Mufale and JJ Heng ran a campaign that yielded four offers and a result that reflected a super-tight 1.52 per cent.

Bumper bids

There were a string of bumper auctions over the past week. Down on the Peninsula, eight bidders busted their wallets for 172-174 Ocean Beach Road in Sorrento.

A Melbourne-based land banker beat off the competition, in front of a crowd of high-power Sorrento locals, to pay $6.7 million for the corner property on Melbourne Road.

The sale represents a new land rate record for the Sorrento shops of $16,262 a sq m – 49 per cent higher than the last big deal – and a yield of 2.4 per cent.

On two titles, the property is on 412 sq m of land. Records show the vendor was former AMX boss and speedway rider, Rod Hunter.

The corner shop, Buckley, is leased to Only Hospitality’s Julian Moussi. Total rent is $180,000.

Stonebridge Property Group agents Nic Hage, Rorey James and Sarah Xi handled the auction.

“This was a real test for the market given all the noise – interest rates, COVID, elections and war,” Mr James said.

New owners

Owner occupiers have beat investors in several auctions across the suburbs.

JLL agent Jesse Radisich, who handled the auctions with Nick Peden, Josh Rutman, Tim Carr, Mark Stafford and Mingxuan Li, said owner-occupiers won the day at auctions for shops at 338 Smith Street, Collingwood and 1163-1165 High Street, Armadale, and a development site at 346-348 Whitehorse Road, Balwyn.

The now defunct Collingwood framing shop, Picture Box, on the corner of Johnston Street, fetched $2.72 million, a land rate of $24, 300.

Mr Peden said it was the first time it had gone to market in 40 years. It sold to someone planning a hospitality venue.

“It’s no wonder there was strong owner-occupier interest in taking advantage of the location. It’s further evidence the market has strong confidence in the post-pandemic world to get on with business.”

The Armadale shop attracted five bidders and sold for $5.56 million or $14,220 a sq m.

The Balwyn development site attracted eight bidders and was auctioned in front of a large crowd that included prominent local developers.

The winning bid was made by a medical centre developer with plans to occupy and run a new centre. It sold for $5.8 million, a land rate of $3900 a sq m.

Super site

A rare South Melbourne super-site is on the market. The 2563 sq m corner site at 182-200 Clarendon stretches to 90-94 York and 8 Ross Place at the rear.

The property is 100 percent leased, earning $1.3 million a year, and comes with demolition clauses in place for its inevitable development.

Records show the Zoland family’s investment vehicle Lorden paid $6.5 million for the site in 2005.

Dixon Kestles agent John Pratt and Simon Regan and Lemon Baxter’s Chris Curtain and Paul O’Sullivan have the listing and are expecting more than $30 million.

“It’s the biggest listing to come on to Clarendon Street in years,” said Mr Curtain, who spent lockdown analysing every deal in South Melbourne since 2001.

The data shows 181 sites worth around $2.6 billion have sold in the past eight years, he said.

South Melbourne’s fringe office market has boomed in recent years with Centuria paying $205 million for the Deague Group’s 16,000 sq m office at 101 Moray Street.

With Hickory’s six-storey 10,000 sq m office at 68 Clarke Street nearly 100 per cent leased, a new wave of buildings are under development, including the former BOC site on Cecil Street opposite South Melbourne market.

Doncaster hill

ASX-listed Hansen Technologies is selling its office and data centre located high on the Doncaster hill.

The three-storey 3707 sq m building is on a huge 7550 sq m site at 2 Frederick Street, sitting directly behind a new apartment building opposite Westfield Doncaster, still known locally as “Shoppo.”

Records show the Hansen family’s investment vehicle Kymarnam bought the property in 1994, paying $3 million. The same investment company is also selling the Eltham Woolworths.

Fitzroys agents David Bourke, Shawn Luo and Paul Burns and Colliers’ Peter Bremner and Hamish Burgess are running the expressions of interest campaign. It’s expected to sell in the mid-$20 million range.

It is selling with a lease to Hansen Technologies running until the end of 2024 and returning $770,273 a year in rent.

It’s in the heart of the Doncaster Hill Major Activity Centre, with views to the south, east and west.

“This is one of the best landbank and development opportunities in Melbourne,” Mr Burns said.