Mill Complex on the auction block
With popular weekend destination The Grounds of Alexandria placed in voluntary administration, The Mill complex, which houses the much loved bar and restaurant complex has been put on the market.
Goldman Sachs hopes to make $100 million off the sale.
The property was picked up by lender Suncorp and Goldman Sachs got control of the asset when it bought a $1.6 billion parcel of loans in 2013 that went bad.
The 10 building inner west Alexandria precinct is being marketed by CBRE’s Scott Gray-Spencer and Brendan Shipp on behalf of PPB Advisory, which is advising the lender.
And it has a lot to offer any prospective buyer.
The Grounds of Alexandria, which opened in 2012, sits on approximately one acre. It has a sustainable garden, café, bakery and “coffee research and education facility”, according to its website. It also features popular markets where small food vendors can sell everything from flowers to artisan doughnuts.
The Mill itself has warehouse-style office space, retail areas and extensive car parking. There are also historic buildings, some dating back to 1823. A redevelopment was undertaken between 2008 and 2010. More recent works were done in the last two years. It sits on 1.9 hectares with buildings in the complex spanning a net lettable area of about 17,580 square metres. There is parking space for 216 cars.
There’s also scope for further development potential exists, with the potential for extra floor space. Indeed, developers might look at adding almost 10,000 square metres of office space on one corner of the site.
“The Alexandria leasing market has benefited from strong growth in both rents and tenant demand, which, coupled with the social and food offering of The Grounds, makes this an exciting offering,” Mr Gray-Spencer told The Australian.
“The under-utilised floor space is another key element for investors who are looking for add value opportunities.”
by Leon Gettler, July 27th 2016
