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An iconic piece of Australian retail and workplace history— the 2.2ha heritage site that was once home to the centrepiece Fletcher Jones menswear factory—is for sale with a price guide of more than $5 million.
The Warrnambool site holds significant history and includes heritage-listed gardens with a mixed-use development opportunity comprising warehouse and office space.
The site is being marketed through an expression-of-interest campaign by Nathan Edgar and Thomas Dodd of Knight Frank in conjunction with Mark Wilson and Lucas Wilson of Wilsons.
The property at 61-77 Flaxman Street and 16E and 18E Lava Street—with frontage to Raglan Parade—was established in 1948 by businessman Fletcher Jones as a factory for his menswear business.
Current owner Dean Montgomery purchased the site—about 250km south-west of Melbourne—in 2014 for more than $1 million and has invested in restoring the historic site. At the heart of his plans is a motor museum, which is yet to open to the public.
Edgar said although the site was zoned industrial from its previous factory days, development opportunities fit in more with a mixed-use precinct, depending on the future owner’s vision.
“When coupled with the potential motor museum, the property currently returns $350,000-plus in rent per annum with power to add,” Edgar said.
“The development possibilities for the site are endless, with the potential for multi-level and uses including commercial, residential, health and aged care.”
Lucas Wilson said the listing followed recent infrastructure and development projects in the region, including the expansion of the Port of Warrnambool and the upgrade of the city’s transport infrastructure.
“The commercial property market in Warrnambool is driven by several factors, including the city’s growing population, its strategic location as a transport hub and its status as a regional economic centre,” Wilson said.
With the site being minutes from the Warrnambool CBD—the agents said they had attracted early interest from multiple potential buyers.
Fletcher Jones, born in 1895, was an Australian entrepreneur who transformed the clothing retail industry.
Rising from humble beginnings, he founded Fletcher Jones & Staff, known for high-quality menswear and progressive labour practices such as profit-sharing.
The business was structured as a co-operative and workers were considered partners and had a say in business decisions.
Jones invested heavily in creating an attractive and enjoyable environment for his staff, most notably the extensive gardens around the Warrnambool factory. He believed a happy workforce was a productive one.
Even after his death in 1977, Jones’s legacy of blending business success with social innovation remains significant in Australia.
The factory, which once employed about 1000 people, ceased operating on November 24, 2005.
Where once there were 33 stores that carried the Fletcher Jones name Australia-wide, now there are just three, in Melbourne, plus an e-commerce website.
