They say it comes in 3’s and if true, this may be the lucky last.
Opportunities to acquire a slice of Melburnian history are rare. However in the last few months, Hotel Lindrum, The Skipping girl building and now Marlion house is on offer and investors are rejoicing as these iconic buildings, which traditionally would present as a once in a lifetime opportunity, have finally hit the market.
Marlion House in East Melbourne is located in one of the country’s most tightly held precincts, Jolimont. It is a striking and exceptionally constructed commercial office building bound only by 10 streets and is the first major office investment (above 750 sqm) to be offered for sale in the area on the open market in more than a decade. 33 Agnes street is also the 3rd exclusive, inner city iconic building offered in around 3 months, so something says that another chance to buy in to such exclusivity may not present again any time soon...
“Properties of this calibre are seldom offered to the market. Marlion House presents an opportunity to secure a prime piece of East Melbourne real estate overlooking Fitzroy Gardens, views of the CBD and the ‘Paris End’ of Melbourne,” JLL’s Head of Capital Markets, Josh Rutman stated.
According to the Property Council of Australia, East Melbourne continues to hold one of the lowest vacancy rates in Australia, averaging 2.2 percent over the past 10-years. It also holds the second highest Median house price in Melbourne at $4.33 million closely behind Toorak at $4.58 million.
Mr. Rutman, JLL Director Nick Peden, Executive Tim Carr and Associate MingXuan Li, together with Gross Waddell’s Michael Gross, Andrew Waddell, Danny Clark and Alex Ham have been appointed to sell 33-41 Agnes Street, or affectionately known as ‘Marlion House’. Its will be sold via an Expressions-Of-Interest campaign with Advise Transact’s Mark Wizel acting as the transaction manager. The building is expected to receive interest from a range of investors and business occupiers that have been waiting decades for such an opportunity to become available.
Mr Rutman said, “Just as the Notting Hill is to London, or the Upper East Side is to New York, East Melbourne has enshrined itself as the most prestigious and tightly held enclave at the edge of the Melbourne CBD.”
“Melbourne is the sporting capital, the fashion capital, the culinary capital and the arts capital of Australia – and Jolimont enjoys the very best of each of these offerings at its doorstep,” he said.
In recent years the building has had a major upgrade and extension, providing high quality office floors with exclusive amenities and views towards the Melbourne CBD. Marlion House offers premium grade office accommodation, featuring high levels of natural light, ventilation, panoramic views on all levels and an exclusive rooftop accessible by tenants in the building.
The immaculately constructed building is fully leased, providing a strong income stream from four blue-chip tenants and generates a current net rental of approximately $1,040,000 per annum with fixed annual rental increases.
Mr Gross said, “It’s not often that an office building benefits from 360-degree views, and even more rare that every direction has such an iconic landscape – whether it’s the CBD, Fitzroy and Royal Botanic Gardens, the sporting precinct or the Dandenong Ranges.”
Secure basement car parking for 18 vehicles, accessible via Jolimont Lane at the rear, offers flexibility to reposition the asset to suit medical, luxury residential or a hotel (STCA).
“Having this sort of car parking provision so close to the CBD is simply unheard of, and we expect to see strong interest from a range of investors and future owner occupiers that will look to take advantage of this unique attribute for their specific needs,” Mr Gross said.
“Real estate in this location is as highly regarded as the prestigious east end of the Melbourne CBD, and the scarcity factor in Jolimont makes Marlion House arguably more valuable,” he said.
Mr Rutman continued, “The prestige of the Jolimont precinct and the scarcity of being able to buy an office building of this scale and quality in the area as well as East Melbourne having one of the lowest vacancy rates in Australia is extremely rare. The building is one of just seven substantial office buildings within the Jolimont.”
“As with most upmarket residential locations, the surrounding commercial market has followed a similar pricing pattern, demonstrating some of the most highly valued rental and capital values in Victoria,” Mr Gross concluded.
Contact: Josh Rutman
