GURNER Lists $220M Footscray Project

After recently being granted a permit for its twin-tower Footscray development in Warde Street, developer GURNER has listed the site for sale as it seeks to split its growing portfolio evenly between Melbourne and Brisbane.

The 2,190 sqm site, located at 1 Warde Street Footscray and positioned within the State Government’s Joseph Road regeneration precinct, has been listed for sale by Colliers International, with an approved permit for between 350 – 380 apartments (subject to layout) plus 4000sqm of retail at ground level. The site has an approximate end value of over $220m.

GURNER founder and director, Tim Gurner said initially the developer had no plans to list the substantial site for sale, especially so close to launch, however after receiving numerous enquiries from other parties, the team decided to make the most of the huge interest in the precinct straight away.

“Initially we had no intention to sell the site as that’s just not our business model, however after receiving a large amount of interest from other developers we have decided to make the most of the momentum in the precinct and sell it to someone who has the time to launch the project straight away," he said.

“Having just acquired two new sites in Brisbane over the past few weeks we are now looking to weight our interests more equally between Brisbane and Melbourne, so it makes sense for us to list the Footscray site in order to help achieve this even split.

“We are also about to launch two new projects in Melbourne and we have a number of other sites close to purchase so we simply can’t launch this project at the same time.

“This was a hard decision to make as we are excited about Footscray as a precinct and the early success of the other projects currently selling in the area, so we are confident that whoever purchases the site is coming in at a good time."Formerly zoned industrial, the fifteen hectare site located five kilometres to the west of Melbourne’s CBD was rezoned by the State Government as a Priority Development Zone in 2008 and represents the largest and most significant urban renewal site in Melbourne’s inner west.

Colliers International Development Sites Sales team, Bryson Cameron and Trent Hobart are handling the exclusive opportunity.