Gravias Luxe Industrial Scheme at Keilor Waved Ahead

Vacancy rates may be climbing across Melbourne’s industrial sector but Gravias is leasing warehouse units at rates described as “unheard of” and attracting publicly listed companies as tenants. The family developer’s latest move, an approved $12-million refurbishment at Keilor East, doubles down on a strategy where polished concrete and aluminium sectional doors command premiums to make traditional industrial developers envious. The project, dubbed Keilor and Co, is 12km north of Melbourne. It has an existing 1300sq m commercial property that will be redeveloped to create 10 units for a total gross realisation value (GRV) of $12 million. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2026. Managing director Aaron Gravias said the group was starting to get a foothold at Keilor East, where it is nearing completion of another project, Slater Park, which is 85 per cent sold. Combined with two completed projects at Williamstown, the developer now holds four high-end commercial properties with a combined GRV of $35 million. Gravias said the acquisition came at a time of growing market confidence, with interest rates stabilising and business conditions improving. “We’ll be doing what we do best with this refurbishment opportunity—delivering a really high-quality and luxurious product that’s still easily accessible for growing businesses, many of which are increasingly confident in securing new facilities in this cycle,” he said. Gravias was established in 2021 by brothers Aaron and Stan with their father, Tom, drawing on the family’s development and construction roots dating back to the 1960s. The company’s vision centres on creating architecturally inspired commercial projects that remain accessible for small and medium-sized businesses. Delete Aaron Gravias said the company took an unconventional path to acquiring its first sites, undertaking company searches, writing letters to property owners and door knocking. “I figured that in order to get it, I’d have to go out and chase it, which is what we did,” he said. That led to the company’s breakthrough at Williamstown, where good timing on a 2021 settlement meant the property value jumped from $1.535 million to more than $2 million within a few months. Rolling the dice on the level of finishes the Gravias planned for its projects has converted to strong market response. Units initially offered at $3800 per square metre eventually sold for near $6000 per square metre. “When I first started designing them and I was taking them to the major agencies at the time, they sort of couldn’t wrap their head around the level of finishes that we were wanting to include,” Aaron said. “But the market reacted really well to it and it was probably the reason we were able to get the rates we did.” Unit designs include integrated fridges and dishwashers, stone benchtops, sheer curtains to offices, polished concrete floors and aluminium sectional doors. ▲ Gravias managing director Aaron Gravias said the rates paid at Slater Park were previously unheard of. At the recently completed Slater Park project ( pictured at top ), Gravias secured leases approaching $250 a square metre—which Aaron said was unheard of in the pocket—including a publicly listed company as a tenant. “These businesses can go down the road and pay $6000 or $7000 a year less,” Gravias said. “But they realise it makes sense for them to pay the premium to be in here, where quality finishes, facilities and amenity is in place, meaning they don’t have to do anything else to get them up to scratch.” The strategy has opened Gravias to retail tenants seeking to reduce overheads by moving from traditional shop fronts to commercial units with by-appointment access. Having in-house construction capabilities has provided cost, time and quality advantages, too. A multi-level facility taking advantage of the site’s three street frontages was originally planned for the Keilor and Co project but Gravias opted to derisk the development given Melbourne market conditions. “One day there’s a lot of optimism, the next day there’s a lot of pessimism,” Gravias said. “So we thought it’s probably time to consolidate a little bit rather than just taking on the risk of that size.” According to the company, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed retail trade rose 1.2 per cent month-on-month to June 2025, while monthly household spending increased 0.1 per cent month-on-month in August 2025 and 5 per cent year-on-year, indicating improving business conditions across the economy. Prological’s Industrial Property Market Intelligence report released in November revealed vacancy across the east coast was stable in the second quarter of 2025 at 2.35-million sq m, with speculative completions totalling 905,000 square metres. Melbourne’s vacancy rose from 3.1 per cent to 4.1 per cent as rents declined 1 per cent quarterly. Meanwhile, Gravias continues to command rates well above market average. “With interest rates stabilising and now starting to drop, retail trade and household spending picking up and our clientele increasingly looking to secure their future premises in a high-quality build, we’re very confident in the market fundamentals across Melbourne,” Aaron said.

Gravias Luxe Industrial Scheme at Keilor Waved Ahead

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