A 32.45-hectare parcel of prime development land in the City of Casey has sold last week, chalking up LAWD’s fourth successful transaction in the Croskell Employment Precinct over the past two years.

The commercial land, located at 1520 Thompsons Road in Cranbourne East, was bought by Melbourne property developer, MAB, and while the final sale price remains confidential, it brings LAWD’s total proceeds from the precinct sales to in excess of $300 million.

LAWD Senior Director, Peter Sagar, said the land was the third parcel MAB had secured in the 317-hectare precinct, as Victorians shift from visiting traditional retail shopping centres to shopping online, increasing the need for logistics and supply chain businesses.

“We are seeing a real shift, fast-tracked by Covid, where retail shopping has morphed into warehouse-based businesses selling products online and using logistics and supply chains to deliver to customers, rather than people shopping in a traditional storefront,” Mr Sagar said.

“Residential lot sizes are also shrinking across Melbourne, becoming a catalyst for a booming self-storage market, as people seek additional storage for their assets such as boats and caravans.

“This has significantly increased demand for this type of real estate, and for MAB, the acquisition creates a large institutional scale holding for them in an area where the supply of industrial land is largely exhausted.”

As long-term holders of the land, vendor, Chris Garnaut, CIO and Founder of Fawkner Property, one of Australia’s largest retail syndicators in Australia, said they were delighted with the outcome of the sale.

“It was always our intention to hold on to the land and achieve full value to provide capital gains for our investors, so this transaction is a terrific result for our unit holders,” Mr Garnaut said.

This latest transaction undertaken by LAWD’s Development Team follows the recent sale of the Cranbourne Golf Club, earmarked for residential development to support population growth in Melbourne’s southeast corridor, while the Industrial Projects Team continues to field Expressions of Interest for development at Thompsons Corner and the nearby Wilmac Business Park.

But it’s not just in Melbourne’s southeast where LAWD is making an impact. Across the city’s outskirts, LAWD has sold almost $1 billion of industrial englobo land over the past three years, demonstrating the firm’s expertise in commercial and industrial real estate.

Mr Sagar said the team is renowned for its ability to handle complex transactions, leverage institutional relationships across asset classes and understand Victorian State Government planning and zoning legislation.
“Our team has a detailed understanding of the catchments these assets sit within and can shepherd a transaction right from the beginning through to contract completion,” he said.

“We take pride in understanding the supply and demand for industrial and commercial land within Melbourne’s various precincts.”

The successful sale of 1520 Thompsons Road in Cranbourne East was transacted by LAWD’s Peter Sagar, Paul Callanan and Henry Sayers.