MAB and Gibson capitalising on industrial demand

AMIDST an ongoing shortage of industrial space across Melbourne’s north, MAB Corporation and Gibson Property Corporation have released an additional 23-hectares of land at their Merrifield Business Park.

The next stage of the park, located in Mickleham, around 29km from the CBD in Melbourne’s northern growth corridor, will see approximately 126,500sqm of additional space injected into the market.

Daniel Eramo and Joe Brzezek from CBRE will market the next stage of development, providing land purchase, turn-key and pre-lease opportunities.

Launched in 2015, the $1.2 billion Merrifield Business Park sits across 415-hectares and is set to be Victoria’s largest master-planned business and employment precinct, specifically designed to service local, national and international markets.

“Large scale occupiers continue to view Merrifield Business Park as a strategic location for their business given the ability to access 25% of greater Melbourne’s population within a 30-minute drive, and 60% within an hour,” said Michael Martin, general manager of commercial and industrial at MAB.

“Merrifield provides excellent linehaul transport and interstate distribution through to Australia’s eastern seaboard, allowing business to have more certainty on timing of inbound and outbound freight as transport operators can avoid peak congestion on Melbourne’s major arterial roads.”

Melbourne’s north currently has a vacancy rate of just 1.09%, with just 13% of the city’s industrial zoned land available for development in the next three years.

Merrifield Business Park’s industrial facilities currently have an ownership rate of 70%, including leading brands operating at park, with Dulux occupying 22,600sqm, Aeroklas with 12,681sqm and D’Orsogna with 10,852sqm.

“We’re seeing a significant increase in the number of industrial occupiers looking to own rather than lease their assets, with rising rents making ownership more affordable in some circumstances,” said Brzezek, senior manager of industrial and logistics at CBRE.

“More manufacturing organisations are preferring ownership over leasing given the significant cost of their fit outs and the strong capital returns seen in the industrial market over the past two years.”

While earlier this year, MAB Corporation sold off its last remaining allotment in its Alliance Business Park development in northern Melbourne’s Epping to a local industrial developer for nearly $11 million.