Melbourne, 19 August, 2021 – Acting under instructions from the Banyule City Council, Colliers conducted a highly competitive campaign to secure developer interest to participate in a Council-run process to purchase the Banksia Village site (232 Banksia Street & 96-100 Oriel Road, Bellfield) in the emerging urban renewal suburb of Bellfield, adjacent to prestigious Ivanhoe.
Colliers Development Site Sales team of Hamish Burgess, Robert Papaleo and Joe Kairouz were appointed to undertake an Expression of Interest (EOI) campaign to identify prospective developers with the capacity and experience to deliver Council’s long-term aspiration of redeveloping the third and last of former school sites it purchased from the State Government in 2012. The site’s appeal was supported by the Council’s earlier strategic decision to rezone the site and adopt the Bellfield Urban Design Guidelines to support an innovative residential outcome and improved certainty for bidders.
“Offerings of this scale that give developers an opportunity to deliver a master-planned and integrated project in a gentrifying infill suburb are rarely found. Our EOI generated significant interest from a wide range of institutional and major private developers. Ultimately Glenvill, in association with Qualitas as a joint equity partner, were assessed by Council as offering the most compelling bid to purchase and develop the site in accordance with the planning vision” Mr Burgess said.
The uncertainty of mid 2020 did little to dampen developer confidence in the opportunity given the inherent scaracity of this type of opportunity was well appreciated by experienced developers.
“Despite the EOI process commencing during a period of unprecedented volatility, we always had full confidence that the combination of location and site attributes was compelling and well-aligned to the mandates of astute developers looking to for strategic medium-density projects” Mr Papaleo said.
The project’s ultimate townhouses and apartments will be attractive to both purchasers and occupiers given the site’s location adjoining the highly-prized suburb of Ivanhoe and being within the La Trobe National Economic and Innovation Cluster that offers major employment and activity hubs including La Trobe University, Austin Hospital, Heidelberg Health Precinct as well as Northland.
Suburban opportunities of this type of scale in Melbourn’es established areas have been hotly contested in the past 12 months.
““We are pleased that this outcome further demonstrates Colliers concerted effort to represent Government, religious, not-for-profit and the alike institutions, in relation to the divestment of strategic opportunities of scale, as exemplified by Banksia Village Bellfield” Mr Kairouz added.
Council’s Bellfield renewal initiative incoporates redevelopment of the former Banksia La Trobe Secondary College site and other council-owned land, and will facilitate the innovative residential project by Glenvill and Qualitas as well as creation of a new Community Hub and new Social Housing accommodation by Launch Housing.
