Salta Offloads Dulux HQ

Diversified Melbourne property developer Salta Properties has listed Melbourne’s Dulux House building for sale with price expectations north of $20 million.

Located on the corner of Princes Highway and McNaughton Road, the high profile Clayton building was developed as corporate headquarters for the Dulux Group in 2007.

The local developer, run by real estate scion Sam Tarascio, is now looking to cash in on 7,727sq m site which provides close to 6,000sq m of corporate office space.

The property sits alongside the Ikea anchored Springvale Homemaker Centre and opposite the $1 billion mixed-use “M-City” development, being delivered by Schiavello.

Dulux currently leases the entire property, while owning and occupying two adjoining properties for research and innovation activities.

The company is currently the subject of a takeover bid for Japanese giant Nippon Paint, Asia’s largest paint manufacturer, with the deal expected to be finalised in July.

CBRE's Scott Orchard, Josh Rutman and Lewis Tong have been appointed to market the property.

“The Dulux House opportunity is a very exciting one for office investors as the property is well positioned to benefit from projected jobs growth, with employment numbers in the Monash Cluster potentially doubling over the next three decades,” Orchard said.

Clayton is currently the site of the $400 million M-City masterplanned community, transforming the once dormant suburb into hubs of high-rise activity marketed towards international investors.

Strategically located next to Monash University, the masterplan is also aiming to accomodate the surging numbers of international students arriving in Melbourne.

Tightening vacancy rates in Melbourne’s CBD and fringe markets are driving activity around suburban office parks, with vacancy rates falling to under 9 per cent in Melbourne’s outer east.

Developer confidence in Melbourne’s suburban office sector is also growing, buoyed by an $18 billion increase — 20.5 per cent — in government infrastructure investment over the last year.

“There has been close to $500 million of investment from Chinese and Hong Kong capital in Melbourne’s metropolitan office sector in the past year or so and we expect this property will be keenly sought,” Rutman said.

Salta, which has a $6 billion development pipeline, has also lodged an application to develop two buildings at the 459-471 Church Street site it bought last year in the trendy Cremorne office precinct.