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Al Gore to Launch Safe Climate Australia Initiative in Melbourne Next Week

marc@realestatesource.com.au (Marc Pallisco) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:53:29 +0000

ENVIRONMENTAL activist Al Gore will launch the Safe Climate Australia initiative in Melbourne next week.

VicSuper chief executive Bob Welsh has invited the former US president candidate to Australia to launch the initiative at a breakfast on Monday.

Mr Welsh is one of the biggest investors in Generation Investmnet Management, a London-based fund manager which Mr Gore chairs.

Watpac to Build $62 Million RMIT Building on Former Carlton & United Brewery Site, Melbourne

admin@realestatesource.com.au (Announcement) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:41:26 +0000

Watpac Limited’s (ASX: WTP) Construction division has been awarded the construction of the RMIT University Design Hub, with a contract sum of $62 million.

The high-profile project will be located at the strategic north-west corner of Swanston and Victoria Streets, on the site of the former Carlton United brewery.

Watpac Construction National General Manager, Martin Monro, said the award of this landmark project represented a key milestone in the company’s strategy of growth in the Victorian market.

“Watpac has worked diligently to expand our Construction division in Victoria, and the award of this significant project—our largest to date in this market—is an endorsement of our team and their dedication to building on our reputation for excellence and quality,” Mr Monro said.

$200 Million College Set For Opposite Queen Victoria Market

marc@realestatesource.com.au (Marc Pallisco) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:31:00 +0000

A $200 million Business and IT-focussed college, and student accommodation apartment complex will be developed on the prominent City Mazda car dealership, opposite the southern boundary of Melbourne's popular Queen Victoria Market.

The Melbourne Institute of Technology, headed by Shesh Ghale, has paid $16.2 million for a portion of the dealership, which will make way for a new college campus capable of accommodating 3000 students, and an apartment tower. The development is estimated to have an end value of between $150 million and $200 million.

New Home Sales Drop Across Country, But Still Strong, HIA Says

admin@realestatesource.com.au (HIA) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:30:11 +0000

Victorian new home sales dropped by 9 per cent in May, following months of increased sales resulting from the boosted first home buyer grants.

Overall Victoria’s new home sale market is still performing impressively, with detached home sales increasing by 16 per cent over the three months to May 2009, according to the Housing Industry Association’s survey of the state’s largest builders.

“Along with other leading indicators, the figures point to a healthy new home building market in Victoria in 2009,” said HIA Victorian Executive Director Gil King.

Le Louvre to Leave Collins Street For South Yarra

marc@realestatesource.com.au (Marc Pallisco) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:18:34 +0000

MELBOURNE establishment frock shop Le Louvre will leave its long time home at 74 Collins Street, and relocate to South Yarra.

Boutique owner Georgina Weir has sold the prominent 3-level 1855 building to Queensland Investment Corporation, which owns the 50-plus level Nauru House office building behind Le Louvre.

Le Louvre stood in the way of a $500 million mixed use village of high rise offices, and a shopping arcade proposed by QIC for the Nauru House forecourt last year.

Heritage Williamstown House Vandalised

marc@realestatesource.com.au (Marc Pallisco) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:16:15 +0000

VANDALS have damaged the already dilapidated Williamstown house at the centre of a conservation row (and residential development site) in Melbourne’s south-west.

After a complaint by the Hobsons Bay City Council, Heritage Victoria has ordered the property’s owner, Hoppers Crossing pensioner Gary Page erect a new fence around the crumbling home – which occupies a corner of an 839 square metre site his family has owned since 1964 and used as storage for a family business.

Mr Page listed the Aitken Street site for sale in April to help pay his living costs, after the global financial crisis saw his superannuation value plummet.

Commission Flats Earmarked for Melbourne CBD Gateway Site

marc@realestatesource.com.au (Marc Pallisco) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:10:24 +0000

A LANDMARK CBD building – formerly the Department of Defence Drill Hall – will be developed into Melbourne’s next social housing project.

The State Government has sold the prominent 74-year old Art Deco building - with its distinguished double storey pillars – to social housing developer Melbourne Affordable Housing which plans to build an 8-level, 59-unit tower on the triangle site.

At an estimated cost of about $30 million, the “gateway” development is mooted for the junction where Victoria Street meets Therry Street, opposite the Ibis Hotel, and the Carlton suburb border.

Australia's First K-Mart Centre to Double in Size

marc@realestatesource.com.au (Marc Pallisco) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:03:51 +0000

THE SHOPPING centre where Australia’s first K-Mart opened in 1969, is set to undergo a major extension and renovation.

The owners of the K-Mart Plaza, also known as the East Burwood Plaza, will double the size of the complex, on the corner of Burwood Highway and Blackburn Road, from 15,000 square metres to 30,000 square metres.

Pomeroy Pacific development manager Paul Chiodo said the $35 million extension will add about 30 specialty shops, a 5,500 square metre Coles supermarket, a 333 seat restaurant, gymnasium, and a First Choice bottle shop. The extension will be built over an an existing car park, on the western side of the 6.3 hectare site.

Off the Plan Sales in Jeopardy, HIA Says

admin@realestatesource.com.au (HIA) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:50:06 +0000

Off-the-plan sales could be at risk, and jobs could be lost, because of a Supreme Court decision that buyers can cancel building contracts and get their deposits back if projects are not completed in time. The Housing Industry Association's Victorian Executive Gil King said the court ruling showed no understanding of the significant barriers already faced by builders.

"This decision could not have come at a worse time for the residential construction industry," Mr King said. "The decision puts projects, and thereby jobs, at risk, and may put the entire future of off-the-plan sales in jeopardy."

Trinity in Negotiations to Sell Portfolio of Four Brisbane Offices

marc@realestatesource.com.au (Marc Pallisco) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:59:52 +0000

THE Trinity Enhanced Return Fund is believed to be in negotiations to sell a portfolio of four Brisbane CBD office blocks to a private investor.

The four blocks, on Queen and Wharf streets, are reported to be exchanging for about $53 million, substantially less than the $76 million the fund paid for the buildings several years ago.