Uni opts for higher learning
The 300 Flinders Street office rises 12 levels above a nine-level car park and includes more than 14,000 sq m of space, for years occupied by the university.
In 2011 Victoria University sold the 574-bay car park for $28.1 million. The office area now available above was expected to sell for about $45 million.
Savills directors Clinton Baxter and Nick Peden said the university was offering a two-year leaseback arrangement of about $4 million annually, with a 3.5 per cent increase next year.
The building is the second former education centre to be offered to the market this month, with Melbourne Institute of Technology entrepreneur Shesh Ghale offloading a private college at 388 Lonsdale Street for about $22 million.
Victoria University plans to migrate students from six city sites to a new "vertical campus" for which it recently gained planning approval.
The university's redevelopment of the historic former women's venereal disease clinic in Little Lonsdale Street as a 32-storey campus for 25,000 students may prove contentious as Melbourne City Council has nominated the building for heritage protection.
The tower will also overlook the heritage protected Royal Mint precinct.
Meanwhile, another heritage office built on the site of Melbourne's first synagogue that has recently been put on the market may also face redevelopment.
Price expectations for the six-storey Equity Chambers building at 472 Bourke Street are about $15 million. The offshore owner of the property let the planning permit for a 16-storey, 215-apartment building lapse in 2010.
Earlier this year the Grollo-run company Equiset turned down an opportunity to buy the property for a similar sum.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Victoria University is selling its prominent CBD building at 300 Flinders Street, a riverside office that rises 12 levels above a nine‑level car park and contains more than 14,000 sq m of space that the university has occupied for years.
The office area above the car park at 300 Flinders Street was expected to sell for about $45 million. (For context, the adjoining 574‑bay car park was sold in 2011 for $28.1 million.)
Yes — the university is offering a two‑year leaseback on the building, with rental income of about $4 million a year and a 3.5% rental increase scheduled for next year, according to Savills directors Clinton Baxter and Nick Peden.
Victoria University plans to consolidate students from six city sites into a new 'vertical campus' — a 32‑storey Little Lonsdale Street super‑tower for about 25,000 students — and has gained planning approval for that redevelopment.
Potentially. The proposed redevelopment involves the historic former women's venereal disease clinic in Little Lonsdale Street, which Melbourne City Council has nominated for heritage protection, and the tower will overlook the heritage‑protected Royal Mint precinct — factors that may make the project contentious.
Yes. The 300 Flinders Street sale is the second former education centre offered this month — Melbourne Institute of Technology entrepreneur Shesh Ghale is reportedly selling a private college at 388 Lonsdale Street for about $22 million.
The six‑storey Equity Chambers at 472 Bourke Street is on the market with price expectations around $15 million. An offshore owner previously let a planning permit for a 16‑storey, 215‑apartment development lapse in 2010, and the site has attracted redevelopment interest (Equiset declined an earlier opportunity to buy).
Investors should note that former education properties in the CBD are being marketed and can offer short‑term leaseback income (for example, Victoria University’s two‑year, ~$4 million p.a. leaseback). At the same time, planned redevelopments can face heritage and planning challenges (as with the Little Lonsdale site), which can affect timing, costs and potential returns.
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