Zagames pay $21m for Abbotsford’s former Education Union HQ

Hoteliers and gaming magnates the Zagame family have made a major play in Melbourne’s office and development site market, snapping up the Australian Education Union’s former Victorian branch headquarters in Abbotsford.

The family paid $21 million for the recently rezoned property at 112 Trenerry Crescent, which sits opposite Collingwood Football Club’s former home ground, Victoria Park.

The 4735sqm site, which has an existing four-storey office building with 4252sqm of lettable space, fronts onto the Yarra River in a part of inner city Melbourne that has seen significant residential development in recent years.

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Residential development could now be in the site’s future, after it was recently rezoned to mixed-use, which was the final catalyst for the AEU’s sale.

112 Trenerry Crescent, Abbotsford for formerly the Australian Education Union’s Victorian headquarters.

Fitzroys agents Paul Burns and James Lockwood negotiated the deal amid a wave of local and international interest in the property, with Burns saying both developers and owner-occupiers made plays to buy it.

Fifteen offers were received throughout the process.

“Bidders had schemes for a mix of office and residential uses for the property, looking to take advantage of the property’s recent rezoning to mixed-use,” Burns says.

The Abbotsford property is positioned between both the Yarra River and Victoria Park.

“Office vacancies across Melbourne’s city fringe have been tightening to historic lows and businesses are increasingly looking to Abbotsford as the next hotspot for commercial activity.”

The site also benefits from 140 car parks.

Agents say the Zagame family plans to keep the exisiting building and repurpose it in time.