Government to sell land as developers tap precinct in north

The Victorian government is forging ahead with its plans to sell off redundant property assets, putting a former school in Reservoir on the market with an asking price of about $6 million.

The 1.45-hectare site at the corner of Tyler and Crevelli streets was home to the Northern School for Autism until it moved to a new $13 million facility elsewhere in the suburb this year. The land, zoned residential 1, is owned by the Department of Education.

The property, in the centre of a low-density residential area, is touted as a possible site for a new subdivision or medium-density townhouse-style development.

"We expect strong demand from predominantly residential developers, given the convenient shape of the corner allotment and two significant street frontages," says Ben Baines, of Colliers International, who is marketing the property with Hamish Burgess.

"The northern precinct is proving to be a hit with developers of late ... it's considered to still be affordable yet relatively close to the CBD."

It's the latest in a series of property assets put to market by the state government and government-backed entities such as Places Victoria.

The Napthine government flagged the "streamlining identification of surplus government land and bringing it to market" as priority in its 2013-14 budget.

Key among these is the sale of land associated with the redevelopment of the Kew Cottages site in Kew, which is expected to deliver a revenue boost estimated in the tens of millions of dollars.

Last month, Places Victoria announced it was looking for a single buyer to acquire 680 hectares of residential land in the growth corridor suburbs of Craigieburn, Officer and Epping.

The group also recently listed a Footscray high-density residential development site with an asking price of $18 million after spending more than $22.2 million to buy it less than two years ago.

The listings come after Places Victoria declared a steep loss in the 2011-12 financial year, primarily caused by write-downs in the value of its massive property holdings.

cvedelago@fairfaxmedia.com.au

Twitter: @chrisvedelago