This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
AN office building in Melbourne’s inner east that was formerly home to Bunnings has traded for $17 million, and is now in the hands of United Petroleum founders Eddie Hirsch and Avi Silver.
The vacant 465 Auburn Road building in Hawthorn has 2,739 sqm of floor space and has been largely vacant for the past five years, despite multiple leasing campaigns attempting to fill the building. Bunnings had moved to the Botanicca complex in Richmond.
Stonebridge Property Group’s Julian White, Dylan Kilner, and Chao Zhang, along with Colliers’ Alex Browne and Ben Baines, marketed the property for sale on behalf of a local family that has owned the property since 2010. The family had purchased the property for $11,200,000 when it was fully occupied by the hardware company.
Interest came from both owner occupiers and value-add investors, resulting in the two agencies generating a combined total of 167 enquiries and 21 inspections. The Age reported that Hirsch and Silver are the buyers, adding to their recent $6 million purchase of a 12,140 sqm development parcel in the south east growth suburb of Clyde North.
“The building was in its original condition, and most buyers were factoring in additional lifecycle replacement costs. Therefore, the sale price of over $6,200 per sqm is a very strong result,” White said.
“By emphasizing the rarity of a building of this scale located between two of Melbourne’s wealthiest suburbs, Hawthorn and Toorak, we were able to overcome buyers’ concerns about the building’s age and outdated services.”
