Winx the last hurrah as Moonee Valley prepares for major redevelopment

But in only a few days, property developer and one-time Melbourne Cup winner Kobritz and his fellow Moonee Valley committee members will turn their attention to something even bigger as construction begins on a huge $2 billion property revamp of the racecourse.

It starts with 67 townhouses in the members’ car park in stage one of a project that will eventually include 2000 apartments and 4000 residents, a new grandstand and other facilities on what is prime land just 6km from Melbourne’s CBD.

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“We’ve had plenty of doubters and some wanted to close it down,” Kobritz tells The Weekend Australian. “But we owned the freehold and got the rezoning done. We’ve got the permit for the 67 townhouses only last week and we’ve lodged a permit for an apartment building for the second stage. What we will end up with is a fantastic mixed-use project with a lot of open community space and facilities.

“The infield will become their backyard; some racing and brand new grandstand that will act as a clubhouse for members and residents, with cafes, bars, a gym, function facilities and so on.”

Kobritz has developed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Melbourne property with his Dealcorp, which has a $500 million project under way next to La Trobe University, and is undertaking some groundbreaking projects on and around railway stations as part of the state government’s railway crossing removal project.

But this time of year his priority becomes horse racing, with Moonee Valley a mixture of business and pleasure. Kobritz famously was a Melbourne Cup winner with Subzero in 1992, but he also has a tale of the one that got away in a colt called Pierro two decades later.

What we will end up with is a fantastic mixed-use project with a lot of open community space and facilities

Kobritz’s property connections go far back, as does his racing. His father, who imported fur and leather from China to Europe before moving to Australia, was a close friend of the late rich-lister Isador Magid and his mother went to school in China with billionaire Harry Triguboff.

“Dad was a member of the Shanghai Jockey Club. Maybe that’s where I get my racing genes,” Kobritz says.

“I’ve been lucky to win some big races. The owners of Winx are so lucky, winning three Cox Plates and maybe a fourth.

“I’m always looking for another one. I have to, given there was that time I bought one for about $100,000. I took it back to Magic Millions a year later, sold it for $200,000 or so. It ended up winning about $4.5 million. It was called Pierro. And then it got sold to Coolmore stud for a reported $35 million. So that’s a story that has never let me down.”

As a property developer, Kobritz has certainly noticed a slowing in the rate of sales and also a tightening in bank lending, but he believes the fundamentals of the Melbourne market should remain strong for some time.

“We are going through the cycle at the moment. After seven or eight years of growth the market has to take a breather,” he says. “Once it stabilises over the next 12 months I think we will see price growth emerging again. We are very positive about the ­market.”

What Kobritz believes is different for Dealcorp is having projects in areas where there is a significant owner-occupier and cashed-up downsizer element, rather than relying on foreign buyers or investors.

In particular, there are two mooted projects at Gardiner Station in Glen Iris in Melbourne’s east and another at Ormond that he believes will perform well, mixing middle-suburban living with inner-city amenities.

Once it stabilises over the next 12 months I think we will see price growth emerging again. We are very positive about the ­market

Glenarm Square at Gardiner Station will include an indoor pool and gym, a large business centre, a residents’ dining room with fully equipped kitchen and a home theatre room.

“It’s surrounded by Malvern and Camberwell in an area where the median house price is about $2.5m,” he says.

“So a downsizer can buy a three-bedroom for $1 million or $1.2 million, sell their house and have $1 million in their pocket to spare.”

Dealcorp also has plans for a boutique hotel in Fitzroy, is building apartments in South Yarra and has a big project next to La Trobe University in the city’s emerging north that it is halfway through. It will benefit from the release this week of a plan for the university to grow to 40,000.

“We’ve got three more residential stages to go, and a student accommodation stage,” Kobritz says. “We are also looking at a hotel and office building that will round out the project.

“It has been a good one for us over six or seven years.”