BRIEFS

Property fund buys 148-unit village

AUSTRALIAN Unity's Retirement Village Property Fund has made its first purchase the Geelong Grove Retirement Village in Grovedale. The village has 148 units with more than 96 per cent occupancy and was built in a number of stages from 1986, with a variety of indoor and outdoor community facilities. The Australian Unity fund, which was set up to give investors access to the growing retirement village sector, has been designed for institutional investors with a minimum investment of $5 million. Investment returns of 4 per cent over the benchmark of rolling 10-year Australian government bond yields are targeted.

YARRAVILLE

Warehouse gets a makeover

A NEW warehouse development in Yarraville aims to take advantage of the proximity to Docklands and the CBD. DTZ Australia is offering for lease nine industrial warehouse units being developed on the 2590 sq m site at the Hall and Hyde Street corner. The ICON Developments project is expected to be completed this month and involves converting the older style building on site into six refurbished and redeveloped units. Three new tilt-slab warehouses are being added to the Industrial 3 zone site.

MOONEE PONDS

Puckle Street strip site available

A TWO-STOREY building in the Puckle Street retail strip in Moonee Ponds will go to auction on Friday. Located at 38 Puckle Street and zoned Business 1, it will be auctioned at 11.30am on site. The property, with a street frontage of 7.62 metres on a large site area of 272 sq m, has rear access and on-site car parking for 4-6 vehicles. There is also the opportunity for further development. The property is leased to Zilla Holdings, trading as long-established retailer Paddington Coat Factory.

KEYSBOROUGH

Old Pizza Hut site brings $1.5m

A VACANT building that once housed a Pizza Hut restaurant at 362 Cheltenham Road in Keysborough has been sold for $1.55 million by Crabtrees Real Estate. The property, on a Residential 1 zoned site, retains the former restaurant building with an area of 312 sq m and holds a permit for 124 seats. Selling agent Luke Pitcher said the 2665 sq m site had a frontage of 71 metres. He said the building could continue as a restaurant or food venue, but the highest offer was as an outstanding development site.

ESSENDON

Step into the Roaring Twenties

AN ART Deco-style eatery, once home to a funeral parlour and later converted into a restaurant, is for sale. Knight Frank's Russell Smith is marketing the property at 131 Buckley Street, Essendon, with the campaign closing on Thursday, September 22. Trading as the Roaring Twenties restaurant, both the freehold and the business are being offered. It is expected to attract offers of about $2.1 million. The two-storey building includes the restaurant and separate function room (with liquor licence).