CAYDON TOPS UP IN BRUNSWICK

Melbourne based Caydon Property has added to its holdings in inner urban East Brunswick with the purchase of a development site for almost $15 million. Caydon bought the 10,000 square metre property off market from Sydney based EG Funds Management, which obtained the site from Charles Parsons Group for $8.7 million in October 2008. EG specialises in buying undervalued properties and turning them around through development and rezoning approvals. This site at 21-27 Brunswick Road was spot rezoned from industrial to Business 2 by the City of Moreland. EG Associate Director Raja Jamal said the strategy had been to gain rezoning approval and then sell the site. The property includes an 8,000 square metre single storey property that is leased to the Brotherhood of St Laurence until 2013. The Victorian Electoral Commission also has space in the building. Its lease expires in January. The deal reflects a sale rate of about $1,500 a square metre. Vinci Carbone Property Directors Joseph Carbone and Frank Vinci negotiated the sale. Caydon is a Melbourne focused property development and construction group. It has lodged an application to redevelop the property into 3,000 square metres of offices and 250 flats. The application is expected to be approved by the middle of next year. This follows the group’s recent purchase of the Vision Australia property in High Street, Prahran, for $21 million and a 5,000 square metre site in Burwood Road, Hawthorn, for $12 million. The company is developing a project at 1 Brunswick Road, Brunswick. Caydon principal Joe Russo said inner Melbourne suburbs were still providing great development opportunities. “There’s a lack of supply. There’s still strong demand for boutique sites of inner Melbourne like Brunswick and Prahran, whereas Melbourne’s CBD has a huge supply concern.” He said. “I wouldn’t like to be in that space at the moment. I think a lot of those developments will have problems getting funding.” Mr Carbone said major developers had been flocking to Brunswick. “Brunswick has an enormous amount of potential, being so close to the city and public transport,” he said. He cited Little Projects’ purchase of the former Tip Top Bakery site on Weston Street for about $12 million and Banco Group buying the former Tontine Pillow site in Nicholson Street for $15 million. “The sale price of 21-27 Brunswick Road reflects where the market is today. Compared with the sales that occurred recently its on par,” Mr Carbone said. EG bought former MFS Group’s Circle on Cavill at Surfers Paradise for $40 million this week.