NO DISCOUNT IN SALE OF FORGES LANDMARK

Forges of Footscray has become the latest relic of Melbourne’s rich shopping heritage to sell to a developer, reaping owner Dimmeys a rumoured $16 million. A group of local businessmen is believed to have bought the one hectare site on Nicholson Street, with plans for a high-density shopping and apartment complex. The sale follows that of the 150 year old Dimmeys store on Swan Street, Richmond, in July last year to developer Joel Freeman. A developer also bought the gracious Le Louvre boutique on Collins Street last month, with plans to retain the heritage façade in a towering office and retail complex. Dimmeys managing director Doug Zappelli said Forges was too large for the discount retailer, which could no longer sell leftovers from Australian labels such as Bonds and Holeproof, because they were now manufactured overseas and too expensive to import. “The shop’s too big for us and the way we’re operating our business at the moment,” Mr Zappelli said. “We’ve had to change because there are no clothing manufacturers left in Australia.” He said the Dimmeys chain of about 40 shops would grow to about 60 shops over the next few years using funds from recent sales, with each shop at about 1000 square metres. Forges, which has been operating as a department store on Nicholson Street since 1898, would continue to trade in its current space for up to two years. “It’s part of our strategy to have smaller stores, which will keep our business successful and keep us buying and selling bargains. For us, it was a very big move to sell Forges … but we’re very happy with the price”. Agent Joseph Carbone, of Vinci Carbone Property, refused to disclose the price paid for the 9000 sqm site, but sources say it was close to the advertised price of $16 million. Mr Carbone said demand had been strong due to the development opportunities. “Rarely do we see such a site of this size and proximity to the city come on to the market,” he said. “Footscray has an enormous amount of potential, being so close to the city and Docklands.” The Victorian Government is spending more than $50 million to upgrade Footscray’s transport and shopping zones in an attempt to transform the suburb into a major “transit city”, with one of the most concentrated populations outside the Melbourne CBD. Planning sources say that until now, land values have been too low to encourage major high-density residential developments, with the exception of a few new multi-storey buildings on Barkly Street. Mr Zappelli said Forges hoped to lease space from the new owners if they built a retail complex on the site. Forges competed with Dimelow and Gaylard in Richmond – later dubbed “Dimmeys” – in the heyday of department store shopping in the early 1900s. Then, the stores were considered upmarket amid their working-class locations, but both became discount shops. Dimmeys bought Forges in 1978 and a chain of about 40 Dimmeys stores is now owned by a consortium headed by the prominent retailer, Doug Zappelli. The historic Dimmeys building in Richmond sold in July 2008 to Joel Freeman’s company Richmond Icon for $16 million and the shop was expected to close in June. Hawthorn legend Robert “Dipper” DiPierdomenico, who spruiked the store for 11 years with his catch-cry “be there”, pretended to weep in his last ad for the company. But colourful signs on the Swan Street shop now proclaim “We’re here for another 12 months”. Mr Zappelli said planning delays meant Dimmeys would be staying put for “at least the next two years”. He said he was negotiating to move elsewhere in Richmond after that. Fulcrum Town Planners, on behalf of Richmond Icon, lodged plans with the City of Yarra for a nine-storey 89 unit apartment building at the rear of the property in March. The proposal would retain the façade and clock tower, but a Hayden Dewarmural on the Green Street side of the building would be destroyed Heritage Victoria is also considering the application. A council spokeswoman said reports that plans had been rejected were incorrect. She said the council had agreed to a request from the applicant for a two month extension, ending on July 30, to respond to preliminary concerns and questions. Dimmeys in Richmond is noted for its ruby-domed clock tower and is considered a prime example of American Romanesque architecture. It was added to the Victorian Heritage Register in February. The council is concerned about the proposed building mass, impacts on the north and south views of the Dimmeys dome and the removal of the Green Street mural.