CommercialHudson FarrWed 07 Oct 26
Mushroom Group’s Iconic Albert Park Headquarters Hits Market
Mushroom Group is selling its Albert Park headquarters, the converted biscuit factory where Frontier Touring began, with a price guide of $6 million to $6.5 million.
The property at 9 Dundas Lane is being offered through an expressions of interest campaign that closes at noon on Thursday, October 29. Marshall White and Stonebridge are marketing it on instructions from Advise Transact.
Mushroom has been at the address since 1980, eight years after Michael Gudinski founded the company at St Kilda. Mushroom says artists who launched their careers at Dundas Lane included Kylie Minogue, Jimmy Barnes, Split Enz, Skyhooks, Paul Kelly, Archie Roach and The Temper Trap.
Frontier Touring has since delivered tours by Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen in Australia and New Zealand.
Mushroom Group chief executive Matt Gudinski said finding the right custodian for the building was important to the company as it prepared for its next chapter.
“I’ve been coming here my entire life, and it’s hard to overstate what this place means to everyone at Mushroom,” Matt Gudinski said.
“It will be sad to leave so many memories behind, but we’re excited for what the future might hold for this iconic address.”
The freehold corner site covers 525sq m and has three street frontages. The building has about 1080sq m of floor space, with about 490sq m on each of two principal levels and a further 100sq m of upper-level office and rooftop terrace.
Stonebridge director Max Warren said the site was zoned Neighbourhood Residential and had no planning approvals, though there may be upside for development of up to five levels. Warren said Mushroom had held the property for more than 50 years.
He said early interest had come from both owner-occupiers and developers, including builders, house converters and marketing agencies, as well as buyers considering unusual uses such as a retail conversion.
Marshall White agent Oliver Bruce said he expected strong owner-occupier interest in a residential conversion.
“The scale of the floorplate, the corner light from three street frontages and that warehouse volume are exactly what buyers look for when they’re reimagining a building as a home rather than an office,” Bruce said.
Advise Transact managing director Mark Wizel said the building’s history would be central to the campaign.
Stonebridge director Dylan Kilner said converted industrial buildings of this kind were increasingly hard to find in Melbourne’s inner suburbs.
“There’s a real character to this building that you can’t manufacture,” Kilner said.
