GURNER Acquires Landmark Site For $40 Million Plus

Property developer GURNER has acquired a landmark 8,500sqm site in Fitzroy North, in a deal that will add another $300 million - $350 million to its already $2 billion-plus portfolio.

Located at 26-56 Queens Parade, the site was acquired off-market in January for around $40m -$45million from a private family who has owned the site for over 15 years.

Subject to planning, GURNER’s vision for the site will see the delivery of a precinct of multiple residential buildings yielding a combined 550 – 650 apartments and a unique public realm and retail offering on the ground floor.

The site is positioned within the City of Yarra’s Gasworks precinct which is bound by Queens Parade, Alexandra Parade and Smith Street, and represents one of the largest remaining developable residential in-fill sites in Melbourne.

Due to the site’s significant 120m frontage along Queens Parade, GURNER has approached one international and three of Australia’s most prolific architecture firms in a competitive design pitch to deliver a new landmark for Fitzroy North.

GURNER founder and director Tim Gurner said the acquisition was the “site of a lifetime that cannot be repeated in Melbourne again” which was the result of over 18 months of negotiations with the vendor.

“This site fits perfectly within our development philosophy of only acquiring sites within 1-3 kilometres of the CBD with an active buyer demographic of 25 – 40 year olds, offering immediate access to established amenity and a thriving culture and nightlife," he said.

“Our vision for this site is to create something truly iconic while being very respectful of its history and importance in the area, and creating a precinct that the people of Fitzroy North will be proud of - a new architectural anchor for the area."The site is located within the heart of Fitzroy North in between Brunswick and Smith Streets, and is positioned just metres from the famed Edinburgh Gardens and directly across the road from Fitzroy Swimming Pool, as well as cafés, bars and nightlife.

GURNER is currently reviewing and assessing the design responses from the four architect firms with plans to appoint the winning project architect next month, with the aim to launch the project by the end of 2016.