The residential transformation of St Kilda Road is set to continue into with more new apartment plans for the sought-after boulevard.

Wing Tai Asia has lodged plans for a major residential tower at 464-466 St Kilda Road, replacing the former VACC House with an 18-storey mixed-use development designed around a retained heritage podium and a sculpted contemporary tower.

The proposal, prepared under Victoria’s Significant Residential Development with Affordable Housing pathway, would deliver 325 apartments and ground-floor retail across the prominent 4,653 sqm boulevard site in Melbourne’s St Kilda Road North Precinct.

The project centres on the adaptive reuse of the site’s heritage-listed VACC Building, an eight-storey office designed by Bernard Evans that has occupied the address for decades. Planning documents state the development would involve “carefully dismantling and conserving off-site the original metal fabric of the podium visible from St Kilda Road,” before reinstating it as the defining frontage of the new scheme.

Above the restored podium, Wing Tai is proposing a curvilinear residential tower rising to 67.9 metres AHD. The scheme includes 172 one-bedroom apartments, 63 two-bedroom apartments, 66 three-bedroom apartments, and 24 four-bedroom apartments, alongside two ground-floor food and beverage tenancies fronting St Kilda Road.

The tower has been designed with substantial articulation and variable setbacks to minimise perceived bulk and maintain view corridors along the boulevard. Urbis, which prepared the planning report, said the design “has been significantly articulated through a curvilinear design” with “an interplay with materials, façade expression and depth” to create visual separation and visual interest.

The proposal also includes 254 basement car spaces, landscaped pedestrian links connecting St Kilda Road and Queens Lane, and a biophilic landscape strategy featuring canopy trees, raised planters, cascading greenery and a glass oculus pool overlooking the eastern frontage.

The application is being assessed under Clause 53.23, a planning pathway reserved for large-scale housing projects with an affordable housing contribution. Planning documents confirm the $270.1 million development will contribute 3 per cent of project costs to the Social Housing Growth Fund as part of the application process.

Wing Tai acquired the St Kilda Road property in 2018 alongside Abacus Property Group for $95.38 million, before later consolidating ownership of the site. The property previously served as the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce headquarters for around 60 years.

The site sits opposite Fawkner Park and within walking distance of Albert Park, the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Shrine of Remembrance and the future Anzac Station. The surrounding corridor has increasingly shifted toward high-density residential development, with a mix of luxury apartment projects and office redevelopments reshaping the southern end of St Kilda Road.

Joel Robinson

Wing Tai unveils 325-apartment St Kilda Road tower on former VACC House site

Malaysian developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/s-p-setia">SP Setia</a> is the latest to jump into St Leonards booming Transport Oriented Development precinct.

The developer, which has previously delivered Sapphire by the Gardens apartment development in Melbourne, identified the Atchison Street site in 2023. It filed a Scoping Report around 12 months ago, and now has revealed the designs for the new&nbsp;40-storey mixed-use tower.

The State Significant Development Application covers <a href="https://next-portal.urban.com.au/projects/14650/summary">20-22 Atchison Street</a>, a 1,374 sqm site positioned between St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cox-architecture">COX Architecture</a>, the project would deliver 181 apartments, above a four-storey commercial podium, five basement levels, and new public domain works along Mitchell Street. The apartment mix comprises 35 one-bedroom apartments, 39 one-bedroom-plus-study apartments, 85 two-bedroom apartments, and 22 three-bedroom residences.

The proposal has been lodged as a shop-top housing development under the NSW Government’s TOD planning pathway, which allows increased density around key transport infrastructure. The site sits within the recently rezoned Crows Nest Accelerated TOD Precinct.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b799673d-48e2-46b0-801a-0e33a9330100" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20site.png?VersionId=dPh0UfwfaHpbFL1R7H1cbZNbIW0CHbCC" />

SP Setia acquired the Atchison Street site as part of its continued expansion into the Australian apartment market. In comments made to City &amp; Country (The Edge Malaysia) in 2023, SP Setia President and CEO Datuk Choong Kai Wai described the acquisition as “a strategic move” aligned with the group’s post-pandemic market recovery strategy.

“Our target for this exceptional development is local and overseas buyers, including first-home buyers, downsizers and investors,” Choong said.

The tower has been designed as a slender vertical form rising from a mixed-use podium, with COX Architecture positioning the development as a response to the evolving St Leonards and Crows Nest skyline.

“The purpose of the project is to facilitate the delivery of high-quality housing at a strategically located site and deliver a built tower outcome that is consistent with the desired future character of St Leonards and aligns with the TOD controls,” the design report stated.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b1a85eee-76f7-436c-a6da-73ba827b9b13" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20entry.png?VersionId=dA9jHGPMcm.dDbwk4QfxqWiY5bfh3UVt" />

The podium would incorporate retail uses fronting Atchison Street, commercial tenancies, landscaped communal areas, and pedestrian improvements along Mitchell Street. Vehicle access and loading would be consolidated via Atchison Lane.

Residents would have access to more than 665 sqm of communal indoor and outdoor spaces, while the development proposes 96 parking spaces across five basement levels.

The proposal also includes a commitment for 10 per cent of residential floor space to be allocated toward affordable housing through a monetary contribution.

COX said the tower form responds directly to the emerging high-density character of the precinct while seeking to maximise solar access, cross ventilation, and outlook from apartments.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2163f85c-f63b-4be3-aafa-f8763976cec5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Article%20Feature%20Image%20%28Grid%29_5.png?VersionId=WiAmtIKJ6.ZQ41EtYEQ1fol7AeorKBlL" />

“The building is orientated towards north,” the Apartment Design Guide compliance report noted, adding that the tower’s slim form was driven by the constrained inner-urban site dimensions.

The design also incorporates landscaped setbacks and communal open space at podium level, intended to soften the interface with surrounding streets and improve pedestrian amenity.

The project adds to a growing wave of redevelopment proposals reshaping St Leonards and Crows Nest following the opening of the Sydney Metro City line and the NSW Government’s push for higher-density housing around major transport nodes.

Last week Stockland filed plans just down the road. They want to build a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/601-pacific-highway-st-leonards-nsw-2065">52-storey tower on Pacific Highway</a>.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">First look: Stockland plans 52-storey, 538-apartment St Leonards tower&nbsp;</a>

First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a> has revealed plans for a new mixed-use tower at 10 Dangar Street, Wickham, advancing a proposal that would reshape the southern gateway to Newcastle’s city centre with one of the city’s tallest residential buildings.

The State Significant Development proposal, now on exhibition, seeks approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/bowline-10-dangar-street-wickham-nsw-2293">43-storey tower</a> immediately adjacent to the Newcastle Interchange. The project would deliver around 200 apartments, including 42 affordable housing dwellings, alongside 99 co-living units, a 171-room hotel, retail space, and new public domain integrated through the site.

The scheme marks a significant escalation of plans previously approved for the site. Urban Property Group took over the prominent 2,904 sqm parcel, where excavation and demolition had already commenced under an earlier consent for a 14-storey mixed-use development.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="58a96dd9-407f-4d20-86b4-94e4bfeef74b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20podium.png?VersionId=LGlf08pdFGAZDzvx_CXC4XakHNZRuEE0" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a>, the tower has been conceived as a landmark transit-oriented development anchored to the Newcastle Interchange precinct. The proposal includes 245 build-to-sell apartments across a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom residences, as well as two penthouses. Fifteen apartments and one operational unit are earmarked for NDIS housing. The co-living component would add a further 99 units, while the podium would accommodate retail uses and hotel facilities.

SJB said the site presents “a valuable opportunity to anchor the precinct by setting the standard for design, active ground planes and character at the key southern gateway.”

The architecture responds directly to the site’s position beside major transport infrastructure and within one of Newcastle’s fastest-evolving urban renewal precincts. The tower form sits above a sculpted podium designed to frame new public spaces, including a through-site pedestrian link connecting Station Street to Hannell Street, landscaped plazas, and activated retail edges.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a7bd6ff0-f7db-4ce8-a6dc-ea56e72c6149" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20lanne.png?VersionId=xzf39VADyhj7zBQY2I9fx9vI62u2tuSb" />

The design report describes the project as part of the broader transition of Wickham into “a vibrant, high-quality mixed-use urban precinct” that leverages proximity to the station, open space, and regional connectivity.

A detailed public art strategy has also been prepared for the development. The strategy positions the project as “a transit-oriented development of state significance at the gateway to Newcastle’s city centre” and outlines a series of integrated artworks responding to Newcastle’s industrial and transport heritage.

Creative Road’s curatorial framework for the project, titled Unveil, draws on “stratified surfaces, carved volumes, and light-filled apertures” while referencing Newcastle’s transformation from an industrial city into a contemporary education and technology hub.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="77a882bb-14b1-4d28-99ff-9438e39508c0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20site.png?VersionId=cevgo_vN0eKPK78P8YcEu3mKPLkpFqE7" />

The proposal is being advanced through the NSW Housing Delivery Authority pathway after being declared State Significant Development in June 2025. The accompanying scoping report states the development aims to “maximise the site’s proximity to the Newcastle Interchange by delivering transit-oriented development” while increasing housing supply and affordable housing provision within the Newcastle LGA.

Urban Property Group’s plans align with the long-term strategic vision established under the Wickham Master Plan, which identified the interchange precinct as suitable for substantial uplift in height and density. The current proposal would significantly intensify that vision, positioning the tower among the tallest developments proposed for Newcastle.

The site sits immediately north of the Newcastle Interchange, bounded by Dangar Street, Hannell Street, and Charles Street. It is surrounded by a rapidly growing cluster of residential towers and mixed-use projects that have emerged following the completion of the light rail and transport interchange.

First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s latest tower at Wickham interchange

Bottega House has completed settlement of a landmark riverfront site in Macquarie Street, St Lucia, representing its first major Brisbane development.&nbsp;

Positioned on the banks of the Brisbane River, the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/180-macquarie-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">premium site at 180 Macquarie Street</a> features uninterrupted river frontage in one of Brisbane’s most tightly held residential precincts.&nbsp;

The proposed development, currently under assessment with Brisbane City Council, has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-studio">Plus Studio</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/mim-design">Mim Design</a> and will deliver a boutique collection of premium residences positioned specifically for owner occupiers and downsizers.&nbsp;

The residences are set to redefine luxury apartment living in the area, with a focus on architectural quality, refined finishes, landscape integration and elevated amenities including curated wellness facilities, resort-style pools and recreation spaces rarely seen in the local market.&nbsp;

Exclusive sales for the project will be led by Keenan &amp; Byrne, ahead of an anticipated launch later this year.&nbsp;

Bottega House Managing Director Nick Malloch said the project reflects the group’s ambition to deliver a highly curated residential offering within one of Brisbane’s most tightly held precincts.&nbsp;

“This is an incredibly rare riverfront opportunity and one we have approached with a long-term perspective,” Malloch said.&nbsp;

“Our vision from the outset was to create a boutique collection of residences that feel more like private homes than traditional apartments, with generous proportions, refined finishes and exceptional amenity throughout."

Malloch says there is a&nbsp;lack of premium owner-occupier stock of this quality in the market, particularly for downsizers wanting space, privacy and a true lifestyle offering without compromise.&nbsp;

"Demand is expected to be strong given the scarcity of premium riverfront opportunities of this nature within Brisbane’s inner-west."&nbsp;

Bottega House secures landmark riverfront site in St Lucia 

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The arrival of the first piling rig officially marks the commencement of construction at SIERA’s new beachside apartment development, Exhale, in Northcliffe.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/exhale-surfers-paradise-8-enderley-avenue-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Exhale</a>, a glass-encased tower featuring 54 large-scale apartments at 8 Enderley Avenue, is SIERA’s third Gold Coast development. It follows the recently completed PIPIS Bilinga beachfront project, which achieved suburb-record prices, and the soon-to-be-completed Chevron Island development, Tapestry.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359603]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/siera">SIERA</a> Founder and Managing Director Brent Thompson said the arrival of the piling rig represented a significant milestone for the development, which is scheduled for completion in late 2028.

Over the next month, around 260 piles are expected to be installed as work progresses on the basement structure. The building is anticipated to rise above ground level early next year, before unveiling its sculptural glass curtain wall, developed in collaboration with specialist façade engineers.

“The façade was designed to maximise panoramic coastal views while creating a distinctive architectural identity,” Thompson said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=355935]

Designed by BDA Architecture, Exhale will comprise just 54 two- and three-bedroom residences across 26 levels, a level of low-density living rarely delivered in this beachside pocket between Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

The project has been conceived as a resident-only building, with no short-stay accommodation permitted. SIERA says the model is intended to appeal to long-term owner-occupiers rather than transient holiday demand.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=361052]

Residences have been designed with large-format layouts and expansive glazing, with most apartments featuring more than 30 metres of glass frontage to maximise natural light and ocean views.

The amenity offering spans two levels and centres on wellness and lifestyle, including a heated magnesium pool, sauna, yoga and Pilates studio, gymnasium, private dining facilities, cinema lounge, and dedicated surfcraft storage.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359607]

More than half of the apartments have already sold. SIERA has also opened a sales gallery for Exhale at its Chevron Island commercial premises, near its Tapestry tower and the site of its second Chevron Island apartment development, which is slated to launch in early 2027.
</section>
</section>

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=112661]

SIERA kicks off construction at Northcliffe tower Exhale

Office

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Where are we right now and what actually determines the cycles for the residential and commercial sector?
As it happens, most people believe every sector is quickly affected by interest rate movements, that's not strictly true.
And where interest rates do have an effect, the actual timing of that also varies.
How it seems to work in practice
The most sensitive sector is clearly residential property.
As interest rates rise, this immediately starts to curb home buyer borrowing — which, in turn, thins out the number of people bidding at auction and that quickly affects selling prices.
Generally, about three to six months later, you'll notice retail sales being affected. As a result, investors will tend to temper their demand for that sector.
Because most industrial property is largely used for product distribution … any fall in retail sales tends to decrease the need for storing additional stock.
As such, the industrial market can then start to become affected — with about a 12-month time lag.
Residential property right now
Despite all the publicity about having an over-heated housing sector, the stats suggest any collapse in the residential market is still a fair way off.
During last year, home buyers were more or less playing catch-up — as a result of effectively doing nothing since the GFC.
And so, you are likely to see prices stabilise throughout the remainder of 2014.
The office sector
The office sector is basically unaffected by interest rates.
Instead, it closely tracks economic activity and this is what then determines the supply and demand for office space.
Bottom line: As a result of where things sit in the current cycle, you should be enjoying good growth for office property over the next three to five years — certainly in the Sydney and Melbourne markets.
With a those markets expected to peak somewhere around 2018/19.
Unfortunately, the other capital city office markets appear to be running several years behind this time frame, so make your investment decisions with this in mind.
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Do low interest rates affect the commercial property cycle?

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Strata office suites in a prominent building in Melbourne's Docklands have been listed for sale. 
The strata units are situated on levels one and two of the Site one building, at 757 Bourke Street - considered to be the heart of the Dockland's financial business district. Site one is an office, retail and residential complex comprising a total of about 1,435 square metres of fully air-conditioned office space split over two levels.
Marketing the suites are Ray White Commercial's Queensland associate director Chris Heydon and Blair Main Director of TM Realty Docklands.
“Each office is fully carpeted with plaster walls, suspended ceilings, heating and cooling, and data and electrical points throughout", said Mr Heydon.
The offices range in size from about 30 square metres to 65 square metres.
The tenancy mix in building consists of professionals ranging from lawyers, marketers, engineers and recruiters as well as some of Australia’s major sporting organisations. 
Each floor had two kitchenettes, shower facilities and male and female amenities.
“Office tenants will also enjoy access to the Trevor Main Business Centre on level one which consists of a reception area as well as four state of the art meeting/board rooms”, added Mr Heydon. 
The ground floor tenancies of the building included an IGA supermarket, Degani Bakery Café, Booji Café, La Tadka Restaurant and the Nixon Hotel Bar and Restaurant.
Nearby is also some of the country's biggest companies - the National Australia Bank, KPMG, Lion Nathan, March Mercer, and the Commonwealth Bank and many more. 
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kjiminez-eaYKfU7qd2

Strata offices in Docklands listed

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Boutique Australian financial services advisory company has leased about 485 square metres of office/warehouse space at Coorparoo in Brisbane's east. 
Protect Ensure secured the lease at 8/55-61 Holdsworth Street to accommodate its growing business.
Under the deal, the firm has agreed to take out a three year lease, at a net rental of $48,500 per annum plus GST and outgoings. 
The refurbished office space includes about 77.9 square metres of offices on the ground floor and a mezzanine area of some 244.5 square metres. The warehouse is about 163.4 square metres with a container height roller door and also includes four car spaces. The selling agent was Rhiannon Jones of Ray White Commercial Brisbane Trade Coast 
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Coorparoo, Brisbane warehouse leased by Protect Ensure

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Oil and gas exploration giant, Carnarvon Petroleum Limited has secured 281 square metres in an office building in West Perth. 
The lease occupies part of the office space, at 2/76 Kings Park Road and runs for five years with a further five year option. It is understood that the net rent per annum is about $400 per square metre. 
The leasing agent was Lachlan Ottley of Savills Leasing WA. 
The office space features a combination of office fit-out and open plan with ample parking, and was close to local amenity, public transport and the CBD, said Mr Ottley. 
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Carnarvon Petroleum Limited lease West Perth office

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Australia's leasing market is on the cusp of a revival. The upbeat assessment was revealed in CBRE’s National Office Marketview report, which says that improvements in the consumer, housing and export sectors is expected to remove some pressure from tenants’ business top-line performance from late 2014.
It's those favourable economic conditions in the second half of 2014 that it believes should provide the basis for the return of tenant demand.
But CBRE cautions that due to a strong supply pipeline, market vacancies will likely rise over the next two to three years.
CBRE’s associate director of research and co-author of the report, Claire Cupitt, said that it was widely recognised that 2013 was a historical low point for tenant demand across Australia, with the eastern seaboard markets the most over-exposed.
“In an attempt to preserve valuations, net face rents were largely sustained."
"However, soft leasing activity, higher vacancy and record levels of sub-lease space on the market saw incentives rise across the board and effective rents fall,” she said.
CBRE believes that the key to improved occupier markets will be a "growing employment base", which it expects to be concentrated in the second half of 2014.
"Directionally, we are about to turn the corner, but the improvement will be slow," Cupitt said.
What remains the most concerning aspect for the office market for CBRE is the strong supply in the CBD markets. Supply is forecast to outweigh demand over the next three, which despite the improving demand, it said would still have a pronounced effect in Melbourne and Perth, followed by Sydney and Brisbane.
“Given the supply/demand imbalance, our assessment of effective rents remains to the downside with further increases in incentives offered in order to support face rents on the eastern seaboard", said Cupitt.
In contrast, the report is forecasting Perth CBD incentives to peak above 27% in 2015.
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Australia's leasing market is on the cusp of a revival: CBRE

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Brisbane’s landmark State Law Building in the north quarter of the CBD has been slated for sale.
The 50 Ann Street building is fully leased to the Queensland state government until 2020 and is being sold by Harburg Investments. 
The 25-storey tower offers 25,519 square metres of office space and includes 119 car parks. It was given the nickname of Batman building in 1995 after becoming the first major Brisbane CBD building to receive a complete refurbishment, including a total façade replacement and roof treatment which resulted in the property earning its name. 
The building was again upgraded in 2006/2007 when the current lease to the Queensland government started, becoming one of the city's first 5 Star NABERS energy rated buildings.
Bill Tucker, Bruce Baker and Flint Davidson of CBRE are marketing the property. 
Mr Tucker said the building was currently rented at a rate which was below market levels. "This is very unusual in the Brisbane CBD – a market in which most buildings are now over-rented due to the timing of recent supply and demand cycle," he said. 
“There is currently a significant lack of stock available in the Australian office sector and given the attributes of 50 Ann Street we expect the sale campaign to generate strong interest from both local and offshore buyers.”
Expressions of interest close on May 8.
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Brisbane's landmark State Law Building slated for sale

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Engineering and infrastructure management services company Downer EDI Limited has leased 711 square metres of office space in the Fauldings headquarters building in the Adelaide suburb of Underdale. 
The company has committed to a two and a half years lease, at 115 Sherriff Street, with the initial rent struck at $250 gross per square metre annually.  
CBRE’s Michael Pfitzner negotiated the deal on behalf of lessor Symbion. 
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Downer EDI Limited lease Underdale, Adelaide office space

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DEXUS Property Group and DEXUS Wholesale Property Fund has secured international law firm Allens to its premises at yet-to-be built 480 Queen Street building in the Brisbane CBD.
The agreement will see Allens take over about 4,000 square metres on levles 24-26 in sky-rise section of the building. The lease will put the occupancy rate in the building to 50%, which is well ahead of the targeted completion date of February 2016. 
Allens will join BHP Billiton, Herbert Smith Freehills and The Executive Centre in the building.
The 480 Queen Street office development is described as a "strategic investment" jointly owned by DEXUS and DWPF located in Brisbane’s ‘Golden Triangle’ office precinct and is being developed by Grocon on a fund-through basis.
It is targeting a 6-Star Green Star and 5-star NABERS energy rating. 
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Allens lease three floors of yet to be completed Brisbane building

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Strong competition for a commercial freehold building located within the Footscray Activity Centre has sold for $800,000 above the reserve price.
Four bidders chased the property, at 202-208 Nicholson Street and 37 Albert Street, before it fell under the auctioneers hammer for $5.8 million.
The property encompasses a large land site of about 2,639 square metres with dual 24 metre- plus frontages to Nicholson and Albert Streets.
It features a two-storey commercial office freehold of about 2,706 square metres which includes four ground floor retail showrooms and first floor commercial office accommodation. The property is leased to established tenants with an estimated net rental of $490,000 per annum, which reflected an initial yield of 8.5% to the purchaser.
Among the tenants are Parliament of Victoria (Marsha Thompson MP), Carers Association of Victoria Incorporated, Choice Family Day Car Services, and Haange Family Day Care.
Fitzroys agents James Gregson and David Bourke handled the campaign. Mr Gregson said the property’s location within the Footscray Activity Centre, close to Victoria University, Grocon’s McNabb development and Footscray Railway Station, which was undergoing development, was a major factor in the successful outcome. “We are witnessing greater interest across these inner western markets from investors and developers seeking to get in early and seize these unique opportunities,” he said.
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Footscray commercial freehold building sells for $800,000 above reserve price

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GUEST OBSERVATION
It’s impossible not to notice that Australia is shedding blue collar jobs. But what about their white collar equivalents and impacts on CBD office demand?
According to Deloitte Access Economics’ latest employment forecasts, while job growth outside of the nation’s CBDs came to a halt in the second half of 2013, business district office jobs are the only big labour market group adding jobs of late. In fact they actually gained momentum in the second half of 2013.
Yet this growth is small, and the recovery is reliant on the positives of low interest rates, a falling dollar and signs of greater willingness by businesses to take on risk.
Although the news will get better in the next couple of years, nothing like the pre-GFC performance of office demand looks to be on the horizon.
With the exception of Sydney , the nation’s office markets are almost all seeing slow growth, the finance sector is still cutting its headcount and the usually reliable business services sector is losing jobs even faster.
Like Sydney, Adelaide is losing jobs, continuing the worsening trend evident since the GFC and Melbourne is motoring in low gear – also losing finance jobs, but with some business services sector resilience.
There are only two exceptions to the ‘slow growth’ character of Australian office markets: Perth, where growth is still good but slowing as cost cutting by the resources sector takes a continuing toll and the state government tightens purse strings; and Brisbane, where recent job gains have restored some previous losses.
Perth is more exposed to resource-related cutbacks than any other state and things are likely to get worse before they get better. Brisbane is already seeing a tentative recovery underway.
So, with a blue collar slowdown and white collar growth faring better inside CBDs than outside them, where to next?
Overall job growth enters 2014 devoid of momentum, yet there are some positives. One is that employment is a backward looking indicator and the news of late on the economy has been improving – retail sales growth is accelerating, evidence of a recovery in housing construction continues to strengthen, and the news out of the US looks good.
That trend points to a few reasons to expect that better job news lies ahead.
The upshot is that Deloitte Access Economics projects office demand growth to improve further from here, but from a pretty weak starting point. 
Damian Winterburn is the national leader of <a href="https://www.deloittecaplandrealestate.com.au/" target="_blank">Deloitte Capland Real Estate Advisory</a>.
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