Tall & Urban News

Retail high-flyer Harry Goles is looking to take advantage of Australia's tightest office market, in particular a development site in Melbourne's South Yarra for AUS$52 million (US$34 million).

The 2,070-square-meter development site, located about 4 kilometers southeast from the CBD at 671 Chapel Street, is currently home to an aging office building.

The site is one of the last development opportunities in Forrest Hill, with a high-rise residential scheme previously submitted for the site in 2015.

The site also holds the potential for an office outcome tipped to add more weight to the suburban office boom.

Vendor Harry Goles is the managing director of fashion label Ojay, that went into administration in 2012, but has since relaunched as an online retailer.

The Chapel Street site, which backs onto Melbourne High School currently acts as the Ojay head office.

Goles last brought the property to market in 2014 with price expectations of about AUS$30 million (US$20 million) but decided to withdraw the listing soon after.

Listing agent Cushman & Wakefield noted any potential development was likely to benefit from uninterrupted views through to the CBD and benefit from its proximity to the South Yarra Train Station.

“Development sites in Melbourne’s inner-city suburbs are in high demand with only a handful being traded in recent years,” Cushman & Wakefield middle markets director Marcus Neill said.

“In South Yarra in particular, the population is expected to continue to rapidly grow supporting demand for both residential and commercial office space.”

The Ojay site is one of only a few development sites brought to market in the past two years within the tightly held suburb.

In December 2017, Melbourne property developer and industry lobbyist Marco Gattino secured 627 Chapel Street from boutique developer Fridcorp for AUS$50 million (US$33 million).

The opportunistic buy came after Fridcorp failed to secure a permit for a 37-level residential tower on the site.

Gattino's development business, Goldfields, has since commenced construction of a 24,000-square-meter, 24-story commercial office tower despite the areas push towards a high-rise apartment zone in recent years.

For more on this story, go to The Urban Developer.