The plot of land next to Somerville station that sold for an undisclosed price, rumoured to be more than $4.5m. Photo: Supplied
VicTrack – the profitable Victorian government arm not bound by the disclosure responsibilities of other departments which control public land – is continuing to trade super-prominent sites privately.
In what has been a busy month for the powerful Docklands-based department, VicTrack is finalising the sale of a 1.1 hectare block in Melbourne’s outer south-east suburb of Somerville, to medium density builder Brix Property Group for an undisclosed price speculated to be more than $4.5 million.
A marketing image showing the location of the Somerville block. Photo: Supplied
The deal comes three weeks after VicTrack announced plans to sell a unique 600-square-metre hovering space atop train tracks at the Windsor train station to Martin Strode’s SMA Projects, which recently built a mixed use village on Collingwood’s Yorkshire Brewery complex (a site which for 10 years until 1886, accommodated metropolitan Melbourne’s tallest building).
This prime 600-square-metre Windsor plot, at the “grungy” southern end retail mecca Chapel Street, would be valued at more than $7 million, sources speculate. SMA Projects recently announced plans to replace this property with a 20-storey apartment tower covered in plants. The City of Stonnington council is fighting to contain this project to 12 levels.
Late last year, it was reported VicTrack was quietly negotiating with local builder, Deal Corporation, to develop suburban “infill” sites created as part of the multi-billion level-crossing-removal program.
Since the release of the now abandoned Melbourne 2030 planning policy in 2002, government planners have controversially encouraged high-density development around public transport nodes.
VicTrack controls much of the land around the state’s road and rail infrastructure and has, over many years, sold or co-developed both commercial and residential stock.
One of its highest profile and contentious projects, the 10-level Ikon apartment building beside the Glen Waverley train station, had an end value of $70 million when it was completed in 2011.
The Somerville block, at 1080A Frankston-Flinders Road, about 50 kilometres from the CBD and 10 kilometres from Frankston, is expected to make way for a $50 million project. Zoned General Residential, the parcel is also beside the suburb’s train station, opposite to Somerville library and an Aldi supermarket.
Knight Frank’s Andrew Greenway and Tim Grant declined to comment about the Somerville campaign which also targeted child care, aged care and medical business operators.
Twitter: @marcpallisco
