Private investors made all 11 offers received for the property, but they were not the usual property players, he said.

“These buyers were individuals who had ongoing business interests outside of property and an increased appetite to shift a growing wealth pool (due to business profits) into a secure investment like Coles Lalor.”

Coppers sale

The Police Association is selling its historic East Melbourne office complex overlooking the Fitzroy Gardens.

St Hilda’s, at 1 Clarendon Street, comprises an early 20th century gothic mansion and a rear 1980s office building on a rare 2024 sq m corner site with 20 car parks.

Records show the Police Association paid $3.5 million for the property in 2000. From the early 1980s, it was the offices of prominent architects, Bates Smart.

The gothic mansion, designed by Ward and Carleton, was built in 1907 for tea merchant James Griffiths, but almost immediately became a Church of England Missionary Training Home. In the 1960s it was converted into apartments.

Colliers’ agents Oliver Hay, Matt Stagg, Daniel Wolman, Leon Ma and Peter Bremner are running international expressions of interest for the Commercial 1 zoned property.

It’s expected to fetch in the early $20 millions range, but the final price will depend on the buyer’s plans.

“It’s steeped in 115 years of history. The opportunity is unrepeatable and the building is irreplaceable,” Hay said.

“There are only six undeveloped corner sites in the Gardens precinct, with 1 Clarendon Street the only site bigger than 2,000 sq m,” he said.

“The property is truly dynamic in its use. It could be transformed into a high-end luxury residential development or boutique commercial building or retained as a family compound or private medical practice.”

The Gardens precinct has recently undergone a wave of new developments, mostly a return to residential from long time commercial use - Luxcon’s The Address, Orchard Piper’s Albert Street project and Mirvac’s Eastbourne

The vendor is represented by transaction manager Guy Ayres of Relae Property.

Blue-chip Brighton

The former Brighton post office has fetched $16.2 million on a yield of 3.8 per cent.

The 990 sq m building at 71-73 Church Street, on the corner of Carpenter Street, is leased to runners giant Nike, shoe retailer Ecco, baker Laurent and two office tenants.

Fitzroys’ Chris Kombi and Mark Talbot and Aston Commercial’s Jeremy Gruzewski and Liam Rafferty of Aston Commercial handled the deal.

The price reflected a high land rate of $17,363 per sq m and a building rate of $16,480 per sq m.

“This was undoubtedly one of the best strip retail investment opportunities we’ll see come to the market in 2022,” Kombi said.

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“Most of the enquiry came from passive investors attracted to the strong lease profile, significant passing income and excellent corner position within Melbourne’s strongest- performing strip retail centre,” he said.

Only two properties have sold on Church Street since September 2019: the NAB branch at No.35 for $6.1 million on a 3.5 per cent yield and the Oroton shop which fetched $6.07 million on a 2.5 per cent yield.

According to Fitzroys’ Walk the Strip report, Church Street, Brighton once again recorded the lowest vacancy rate among the city’s shopping strips, with an ultra-low rate of just 0.7 per cent.

Oviss portfolio redux

A second auction selling down the investment portfolio of Harry Oviss has reaped $18.5 million.

All 14 properties on offer were sold at the auction held at Leona in Hawthorn in front of a crowd of 130 people.

The properties, all located in the east and south-eastern suburbs, reflected an average yield of 3.4 per cent.

The biggest sale was 804 Glenferrie Road which fetched $2.11 million on a 3.09 per cent yield; 28 Atherton Road in Oakleigh sold for $2 million on the tightest yield of 2.73 per cent.

Gross Waddell agents Michael Gross, Danny Clark and Alex Ham handled both auctions. Thirty properties amassed by the late Mr Oviss have now sold for more than $43 million.

Mr Oviss died in January 2021, aged 97. He opened his first shop in the Block Arcade, selling knitwear, at just 19. His portfolio was acquired over several decades.

Childcare centres

A brand new outer-suburban childcare centre has sold on a bumper 4.2 per cent yield after a boardroom auction in front of 30 interested parties.

The Imagine Childcare centre fetched for $10.1 million with five bidders competing. It’s on a 4031 sq m site in the Regal Rise estate in Narre Warren.

Imagine Childcare, which has 20 centres nationally, pays $433,217 a year in rent.

The transaction was handled by CBRE’s Sandro Peluso, Jimmy Tat and Marcello Caspani-Muto.

“The auction was as strong as we have seen over the past 24 months. We had five bidders competing for the property. Several other registered groups missed out due to bullish investors who bid aggressively,” Tat said.

“Bidders included a number of traditional commercial property owners who are looking to grow a more diversified portfolio, as well as some who had recently sold assets with the view of entering the social infrastructure market,” Peluso said.