VICTORIAN road and traffic authority VicRoads has signed a major lease at Essendon Fields owned by Lindsay Fox and Max Beck.
VicRoads has leased the entire 1,244 sqm ground floor of the Beaufort Building which was the original Bomber Manufacturing building and is being extensively refurbished as part of the planned $500 million Essendon Fields business park.
CB Richard Ellis Senior Negotiator Matthew Sampson said the five-year lease represented the latest commitment to the 75ha park, which is being developed at Essendon Airport by a joint venture between Linfox Property Group and the Beck Corporation. The partners purchased a 99-year lease over Essendon Airport in 2001.
Sampson said the Beaufort building would house VicRoads staff involved in the $2.25 billion upgrade of the Western Ring Road.
“The location of the building was the major drawcard for VicRoads, with the property situated just five minutes from Tullamarine Airport and 10 minutes from the Melbourne CBD,” Sampson said.
Beck Corporation director Nick Beck said the renovation of the Beaufort Building was due to be completed in July.
The facility was one of a number throughout Australia which manufactured the 700 Beaufort bombers flown during World War II.
Essenfield Fields is located on the Tullamarine Freeway, near the Calder Freeway interchange. The project already includes a major motor vehicle precinct, ‘Auto Centro’, which is home to dealers such as Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Chrysler Jeep Dodge, Ford and Mazda. Other facilities include a major DFO centre and adjoining Homemaker Hub.
The Beaufort Building is one of a number of office facilities under construction, with work also being completed on 2,500 sqm office y for Insurance Manufacturers Australia Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of IAG. The site also accommodates the national headquarters for Linfox.
CBRE has also been appointed to lease five existing industrial buildings on the site which range in size from 1,000 sqm to 10,000 sqm.
Australian Property Journal
