Opera Australia Hits High Note With Southbank Development Opportunity

Opera Australia and its adjoining neighbor have joined forces to list for sale two high profile properties, amid strengthening investment appetite for development opportunities in Melbourne’s sought after Southbank precinct.

Located at 35-41 and 43-47 City Road, Southbank, the properties benefit from close proximity to the Melbourne CBD, Crown Entertainment Complex and Royal Botanic Gardens, and are surrounded by Melbourne’s renowned performing arts precinct.

The two substantial holdings comprise a total of approximately 1,704sqm with frontages to City Road and Fawkner Street.

35-41 City Road features a two level office and performance rehearsal studio for Opera Australia productions, while 43-47 City Road is currently home to an office building leased to Mercy Mission Madinah.

CBRE Melbourne City Sales agents Mark Wizel, Josh Rutman and Lewis Tong are marketing the properties, which will be offered as a single regular shaped parcel, on behalf of both owners via an international Expressions of Interest campaign.

CBRE’s Mr Rutman said the properties were expected to attract strong interest from local development groups and offshore developers from Singapore, Malaysia and mainland China who were taking advantage of the high profile location and recent success of surrounding projects such as Australia 108.

“CBRE City Sales has been involved in over $800,000,000 of development site sales associated with foreign buyers over the past two years and this interest looks set to continue in the second half of 2015, especially for development assets of this nature in close proximity to the CBD and with strong passive income,” Mr Wizel said.

“We have seen strong levels of interest in immediate city fringe locations, which was highlighted by the recent sales of 81-83 City Road, 71-75 City Road and 70 Southbank Boulevard,” Mr Rutman added.