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End of an era as Melb\u2019s original La Porchetta sold<\/a><\/p>\n But instead of a luxury residence, buyers would get about 978sq m of office and retail space across five levels on a 208sq m site, with frontages to Lonsdale St and Finlay Alley.<\/p>\n The building is moments from Melbourne Central Station, Town Hall Station, Bourke St Mall, Hardware Lane and the city\u2019s court precinct.<\/p>\n Colliers investment services manager Christian Hatzis said the holding income, flexible floorplates and CBD location would appeal to a broad buyer pool.<\/p>\n \u201cWith strong holding income, flexible floorplates and genuine upside, this is an opportunity that will appeal to private investors, syndicators and long-term holders seeking exposure to a premium CBD location with proven demand,\u201d Mr Hatzis said.<\/p>\n Colliers is pitching the property as one of only a handful of Melbourne CBD freeholds expected to be offered to the market in 2026.<\/p>\n The asset is being marketed with potential upside through leasing, repositioning or a strata selldown.<\/p>\n Colliers investment services director Alex Browne said agents were seeing renewed confidence in well-located CBD assets with strong fundamentals and repositioning potential.<\/p>\n \u201cThe legal precinct remains one of the city\u2019s most tightly held markets, with low vacancy, strong tenant demand and ongoing infrastructure investment supporting long-term value,\u201d Mr Browne said.<\/p>\n But the building\u2019s backstory gives it another layer beyond the financials.<\/p>\n The interwar survivor was built in 1923 for hardware merchant J S Kidd, which commissioned prominent Melbourne architects H W & F B Tompkins to design a five-storey warehouse on the site.<\/p>\n The firm was also behind major Myer buildings on Bourke and Lonsdale streets, giving the Lonsdale St freehold a link to one of Melbourne\u2019s best-known retail dynasties.<\/p>\n The building\u2019s early life took a dramatic turn in October 1934, when a major fire tore through the warehouse and caused an estimated \u00a320,000 damage.<\/p>\n J S Kidd relocated to Carlton the following year, before the Lonsdale St building was sold to Richard R Thomas, chairman of electrical engineering and machinery merchant R & C Thomas.<\/p>\n The company held the sole Australian distribution rights for Swedish electrical company ASEA, and by 1938 the property had been renamed ASEA House.<\/p>\n The five-storey building later became a hub for heavy electrical equipment, including transformers and three-phase motors supplied to government and municipal customers.<\/p>\n Its post-war life was captured by industrial photographer Wolfgang Sievers, whose 1958 Lonsdale St image showed the facade bearing the ASEA House signage.<\/p>\n The building is now protected under Melbourne\u2019s Heritage Overlay, with its five-storey scale, upper facade, steel-framed windows, projecting pilasters, parapet and heavy dentilled cornice among the key heritage elements.<\/p>\n The property is being offered for sale via expressions of interest through Colliers agents Christian Hatzis, Alex Browne and Matt Stagg, closing June 18.<\/p>\n Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here <\/a>to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.<\/p>\n MORE: Portelli\u2019s wild 22pc flex against 7-Eleven david.bonaddio@news.com.au<\/p>\n Originally published as Melbourne CBD building earning $8k a week listed for suburban mansion price<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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