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TYCOONS have forged back into the property market with purchases and development plans involving more than $1 billion of projects unveiled in capital cities as the year closes.
In Melbourne, the Richmond Malt, home to the city’s historic Nylex clock, has been snapped up by local developer Caydon for about $38 million and is set for major revamp.
Caydon, owned by Joe Russo, will work with Heritage Victoria on a mixed-use development expected to be worth $600m.
The deal, brokered by Colliers International’s Jeremy Gruzewski and Peter Bremner, saw the Richmond Malt sold by Richard Mizgala of Power Investments.
The Nylex sign, immortalised in Paul Kelly’s 1987 song Leaps and Bounds, will be a focal point of the new plans.
Mr Gruzewski said the sales campaign was highly competitive with national and overseas interest. “It was the local buyers, however, who understood the complexities of the site and most appreciated the benefits it had to offer,†he said. “The history of the site also had a great deal of significance to the local contingent of purchasers.â€
He predicted local buyers, who have been on the back foot in face of a wave of foreign buying, would re-emerge next year.
Elsewhere in Melbourne, developer John Beville has lodged plans for an overhaul of an office tower at 509 St Kilda Road, that he just picked up from Calibre Capital for about $90m. In his prime, Mr Beville’s wealth was estimated at $409m but in 2011 as his Top Ryde shopping centre project ran struck problems.
The Melbourne venture, also brokered by Colliers International, appears to mark his come back into more active plays.
In Adelaide, aged care entrepreneur Viv Padman has bought a landmark Pirie Street tower for $72m from German fund manager Real I.S. Group.
The deal, handled by CBRE’s Alistair Laycock, Phil Rundle, Josh Cullen and Rick Butler, is a more passive investment and Âreflected an initial yield of about 7 per cent.
The purchase, flagged by The Australian, also drew interest from offshore buyers as the ÂAdelaide CBD tower has tenants including KPMG, Macquarie Bank, CBRE, Bankwest and the South Australian government, providing a secure, long-term cash flow.
Meanwhile, in Brisbane, local private property trust Wentworth Equities has won approval for its $650m mixed-use ICON development, which is to be one of Australia’s largest waterfront urban renewal projects.
The project’s four towers are to have 567 apartments and a five-star hotel is to be developed.
Wentworth Equities executive chairman Sameh Ibrahim cited Brisbane’s growing population and relative housing affordability as drivers of the project.