Huge Vermont South development site listed just two years after selling

A huge block of land in Vermont South has returned to the market just two years after selling for almost $30 million.

No. 490-500 Burwood Highway, with 130m street frontage to the highway on a 25,830sqm site, last sold for $28,477,076 on May 18, 2017.

But with the developers behind that purchase chasing another opportunity interstate, the parcel of land is once again up for grabs.

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490-500 Burwood Highway last sold for $28,477,076 in May 2017.

“We sold it for about $28 million a couple of years ago,” says CBRE director Mark Wizel.

“But the people who bought it have recently gone into other ventures in Australia — namely a major tourism project in the Hunter Valley in NSW. They’re cashing out.”

490-500 Burwood Highway has 13 buildings on the site.

Wizel says the Burwood Highway block, in a general residential zone, will attract offers in excess of $20 million.

An application for a rezone into a residential growth zone was lodged by Tract Consultants in May 2018, with the final decision expected by the end of 2020.

“They are extremely confident there shouldn’t be any issues,” CBRE agent Chao Zhang says.

The facade of the Australian Road Research Board is heritage listed.

The property still contains 13 1970s-era office buildings, including the former Victorian headquarters of the Australian Road Research Board, which has heritage protection.

“Future development of the site is not prohibited but must be managed through a planning permit process with emphasis on protecting and respecting the former ARRB office building,” a City of Whitehorse statement says.

The block is close to Vermont South Shopping Centre and schools.

Future development will also need to consider elements of the garden, designed by landscape architect Beryl Mann, which have heritage significance, the statement says.

“The heritage is very, very limited,” Zhang says.

This article from Leader Newspapers originally appeared as “Massive Vermont South development site back on market”.