This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
MELBOURNE’S south-eastern suburb of Bentleigh is set to undergo further change, with the wealthy Pellicano family looking to offload a site in the busy Centre Road retail strip with a permit for 52 apartments.
The 277-279 Centre Road property is positioned metres away from the revamped Bentleigh train station, which has been moved under the road as part of the Victorian Government’s level crossing removal program and has been seen to improve pedestrian and traffic flow.
Zoned Commercial 1, it currently has a double-storey commercial building of 1,276 sqm that is 90% leased to nine tenants and returning $267,000 per annum, and also a prominent frontage of 33 metres and rear lane access to 36 car spaces.
The Pellicano family has held the property for 30 years as a non-business family asset.
CBRE’s Mark Wizel, Julian White and Nathan Mufale are marketing the property via expressions of interest, with expectations of fetching more than $8 million.
The approved permit allows for a Rothelowman designed, mixed-used development with 52 apartments and two significant ground floor retail spaces over seven levels, located within the sought-after McKinnon Secondary College zone and across the road from an Aldi supermarket.
Wizel said that while the permit appeared to unlock the best-use potential of the property, the 10-year average occupancy per tenant illustrated the strong and ongoing demand for commercial leases on the strip.
“Whichever way the purchaser goes they will have a property which is capable of delivering strong returns in a location which continues to see exponential growth on the back of Melbourne’s nation leading population surge.”
Demand for housing in Bentleigh has driven a 21% uplift in value over the last 18 months, to a house price of more than $1.6 million.
Wizel said the proposed development, on the cusp of East Brighton and 12 kilometres from the CBD, would appeal to the downsizer market selling out of prestigious bayside Melbourne.
Australian Property Journal
