This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE heritage-listed Mate’s Centre building in Albury, which hosted a formative meeting of Liberal Party and is now home to large format retailers such as JB Hi-Fi, has sold for $16.8 million in one of the border town’s biggest-ever commercial property deals.
A Melbourne family is the new owner of 569 Dean Street, at the corner of Kiewa Street, which had been owned since 2011 by Crowe Horwath Property Securities.
While the two-storey, 9,128 sqm building bears the year 1850, the date actually represents the establishment of T. H. Mate’s business Mate’s Limited elsewhere in the town. The current building was constructed in 1916 after fire destroyed the original structure, which was Mate’s first shop on the site and opened on the 4,331 sqm landholding in 1900.
The current building was added to in 1929 and again six years ago. In 1944, it hosted the Liberal Party’s second foundational conference, where the party’s organisational and constitutional framework was drawn up.
Now, is it home to JB Hi-Fi, Lincraft, Cheap as Chips and TK Maxx. It sold with 89% occupancy and an annual passing income of $1.25 million that could be increased to $1.46 million on full occupancy.
Stonebridge Property Group together with local agent L.J Colquhoun Dixon marketed the asset via an expressions of interest campaign that yielded five offers from across the country.
Rorey James of Stonebridge said, “given the buildings short 2.4-year WALE together with the number of specialty shops (10) without an anchor, this result is a great outcome for Albury and the regional areas in general, with buyers continuing to show major confidence in the future of these towns”.
“Heritage buildings are not for all investors, but the purchaser understood the opportunity to fully reposition this iconic Albury building as well as the underlying land and building costs, which were above the investment value in our opinion”, said Phil Gartland of Stonebridge.
Michael Collins from Stonebridge and Andrew Dixon of L.J Colquhoun Dixon were also involved in the transaction.
Earlier this year, Albury saw the New Albury Hotel – better known as Beer DeLuxe Albury – in the town’s CBD sell for $13.2 million, while last year the former Dalgety wool stores complex on Young Street, now home to Harris Farms and Amart, sold for $29.5 million.