This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
CHARTER Hall has snapped up the controversial 555 Collins Street site in Melbourne’s CBD for $140 million, adding to an adjoining site it already owns to create a massive corner block of 4,620 sqm fronting King Street under its control, and further boosting the office project pipeline throughout the city’s west.
It made the acquisition via its Charter Hall Prime Office Fund from Singaporean group Fragrance, which had planned a 625-unit residential tower in place of the existing 24-level office building but had struggled from slow pre-sales.
Only 46% of the project has sold more than one year after its launch. It is still pushing its 78-storey Bourke Street tower despite a sizable portion still unsold.
The site has been subject to several ambitious plans and changes, stemming from Harry Stamoulis’s plans for a 404-metre high office tower, before selling the site to Fragrance for $78 million in 2014. Fragrance then looked to secure approval for an 82-level mixed-use building rising 302 metres, before listing and withdrawing the site to focus on the current scaled-down plans.
Charter Hall Prime Office Fund will look to take up an office development on the site instead of any residential projects. It follows 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 paid Sterling Global $122 million for the site, which was set to take on famed French architect Jean Nouvel’s design for a $700 million building with 488 one, two and three-bedroom apartments and 98 hotel rooms, which the iconic designed dubbed “The Tower of Seven Colours” for its multi-tone and reflective façade.
The west of Melbourne’s CBD has seen a number of major transactions and developments undertaken since last year. Mirvac is currently undertaking development of the 40-storey, 58,000 sqm Olderfleet development at 477 Collins Street, which it sold a 50% interest in to Singapore-listed Suntec REIT for $414.17 million last year, and around the same time, offloaded a half-share in its 26,000 sqm 664 Collins Street project to a Morgan Stanley fund for $138 million, while Singapore’s Keppel REIT took a 50% stake in the future Victoria Police headquarters development at 311 Spencer Street from Australia Post for $347.8 million.
More recently, fund manager EG sold the 12-level B-grade 277 William Street building to the Hong Kong-based Fu family’s KHI Holdings Group for $93.88 million.
A Macau-backed investor paid $40.1 million for the Melbourne CBD headquarters of national co-working business Christie Spaces at 454 Collins Street, which is directly across from Cbus Property’s 447 Collins Street mixed-use “Pantscraper” dual-tower development on the corner of Collins Street and William Street that is set to create a new visual landmark in the heart of the CBD.
Australian Property Journal
