1.8 hectare Adelaide Mail Centre site in the CBD for sale, expected to fetch more than $40 million
The CBD’s largest tract of land ever to go up for sale is on the market. At nearly two hectares, ideas range from a new hospital, uni campus or business precinct. But you’ll need a fat wallet.
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A new university campus, a specialist business precinct and even a home for the Women’s and Children’s Hospital are being touted as future uses for the largest tract of land ever to go up for sale in the Adelaide CBD.
The near-1.8 hectare home of the Adelaide Mail Centre — with a price tag of more than $40 million — sits between Grote and Gouger streets near West Terrace and is expected to attract unparalleled interest, according to Colliers International director Paul Van-Reesema.
Colliers has dispatched senior agents to Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore to drum up interest ahead of a month-long campaign that begins today.
“Residential, retirement, healthcare and education sectors will be popular and investors may seek to redevelop the site or re-purpose the main building,” Mr Van-Reesema said.
“We have already spoken to all sorts of developers and storage users and are getting good traction.”
Australia Post will gradually move out of the site in the 18 months after a sale is agreed via a leaseback arrangement for potential buyers, he said.
The vast six-storey main exchange building will add significantly to a land value estimated to be worth at least $40 million.
The site, much of which is currently a giant carpark, could be turned into a business hub or precinct, Mr Van-Reesema suggested.
Co-agent Justin Hazell suggested it could be a city presence for Flinders University
Pat Gerace, chief executive of the Urban Development Institute Of Australia (SA), said the sale would be a welcome catalyst for the redevelopment of the city’s west end, which has not seen the pace and scale of growth as the CBD’s eastern side.
“Larger sites give the opportunity for more than a single development,” he said. “All the best urban renewal come from having a critical mass. We have already seen recent business growth along Gilbert St.”
Repositioning the site as a gateway to the western suburbs would bring a much-needed connectivity he said.
Adelaide Mail Centre is used for sorting letters only and the building is about one quarter occupied by staff.
Parcels, which have forged a new delivery stream for Australia Post in the wake of online shopping, are sorted and distributed from Wingfield.
The CBD site can be bought as a whole or in three lots and fronts on to Gouger, Grote and Blenheim streets.
The closure news comes as Australia Post announced the opening of the largest mail facility in the southern hemisphere in Brisbane, a $240 million outlay which comes as part of a national $900 million, three-year investment in infrastructure and automation.
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Amatil has confirmed the sale of its longstanding Thebarton bottling plant on Port Road, which will be redeveloped for residential and commercial use by Adelaide’s Australasian Property Developments.
