This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
BESGATE has completed the sell-off of three central Melbourne sites it had earmarked for some $750 million worth of apartment developments, with Hong Kong-listed Far East Consortium paying $90 million to take on a 68-level residential project at 640 Bourke Street.
The deal quickly follows Harry Triguboff’s Meriton acquiring Besgate’s 792 sqm site at 140-146 King Street for around $29 million, on which it will develop Melbourne’s first Meriton Suites apartment hotel.
Student accommodation provider Scape purchased the third site, covering 1,600 sqm at 558-566 Swanston Street for $31.5 million.
The Bourke Street property covers 2,764 sqm site and has approval for a 68-level tower with 813 apartments, and retail and office space. It is currently home to the historic Eliza Tinsley building.
Far East has pre-sold the majority of the residential component of its West Side Place project, which has four residential towers and two hotels, and its under construction Spencer Street complex will be home to the first Ritz-Carlton hotel in the city.
Besgate put the portfolio – comprising a pipeline of more than 1,200 apartments – to the market one year ago as the residential downturn began to bite. However, Far East is determined to go ahead with the apartment project, going against a trend of major CBD residential projects being replaced with commercial plays.
As well as Meriton and Scape shifting focus for their respective sites, Jeff Xu’s Golden Age Group has just sold 85 Spring Street to fund manager Anton Capital for $112 million, who will refurbish the existing vacant 16-level office building before re-leasing. Golden Age had launched a $200 million project with a 39-level tower comprising 138 apartments and a 26-level, 250-room hotel.
Last year, Charter Hall acquired the controversial 555 Collins Street site in the CBD for $140 million from Singaporean group Fragrance, adding to an adjoining site it already owned to create a corner block of 4,620 sqm fronting King Street that will be used for an office development. Fragrance had planned a 625-unit residential tower in place of the existing 24-level office building but struggled with slow pre-sales.
That followed Mirvac’s recent decision to redevelop the Australian Federal Police headquarters at 383 La Trobe Street into a new A-grade office tower of 40,000 sqm.
Mirvac acquired the site from Sterling Global, which was keen to take on plans for French architect Jean Nouvel for a $700 million building with 488 one, two and three-bedroom apartments and 98 hotel rooms.
Australian Property Journal
