Sold 358-360 Swan Street Richmond TCI - An in depth look behind the scenes of the campaign. We'll explain the pros, the cons, the challenges and the reveal!
Existing permit for 10 storey commercial development with ground floor retail and nine levels of office plus basement parking
Commercial 1 zoning allowing both commercial and residential development
Large open plan retail showroom adjoining the high end car dealerships on Swan Street
Offered with Vacant Possession, providing owner occupiers or developers the flexibility to act sooner or later as they require
THE CONS
The property has no rear access – meaning owner occupiers/investors had to rely on front access only and any proposed development incorporating car parking would greatly reduced the street frontage of the retail space
The general market has seen a considerable downturn, with owner occupiers and developers less prevalent in the market – especially those looking to commence commercial/office developments
THE CHALLENGES
Given the current market conditions and lack of rear access, it was unlikely a developer would be interested in the property despite the existing permit and or zoning allowing for change into residential use
The lack of rear access made it difficult to obtain interest from owner occupiers
The lack of a tenant meant it was unlikely an investor would purchase the property, given the number of tenanted investments currently on offer and the expected prices of those properties versus the Vendor’s expectations
Given this, we identified early on the best buyer would likely be a neighbour and persevered with same
THE REVEAL
TCI sold the property to the neighbour for $4,212,250 – which equated to $8,579 per m² on a short settlement
There was a more desirable development site sold nearby recently (with rear access) for $8,297 per m² on a longer settlement
Market expectation was approximately $7,740 per m²