Significant Parnell block for sale

The site for sale at 15-21 Cheshire St has is occupied by houses with periodic tenancies. Photo / Supplied

A 1216sq m site in the affluent suburb of Parnell has been placed on the market for the first time in 81 years.

JLL agent Ian Hall says the site for sale at 15-21 Cheshire St, had been part of a family property portfolio built up over several generations.

"In 1937 this family purchased the first site on the block, years later adding another when it became available to purchase and before long they had acquired the entire block," says Hall.

"Over time, the area surrounding this family's investment changed significantly, with other workers' cottages being snapped up by developers and turned into high rise apartments or office blocks."

A spokesperson for the family told True Commercial that they had hung onto their investment for a very long time.

"It's fair to say the property has been tightly held, as at some point we have all lived here. However, now is the right time to hand it on to someone else as the changes in the Unitary Plan have really opened up the use for the site.

"It is essentially the last site in the area yet to be developed for commercial or high rise residential use, as every other site has a larger scale building on it. Our sites are also the only ones with green space left," says the family spokesperson.

Hall says the property is in four separate and adjoining titles, so the option is there to buy the sites separately or together.

Space available at the Cheshire St properties, are: No 15, 279sq m; No 17, 310sq m; No 19, 314sq m; No 21, 313sqm.

"At present the houses on the site have periodic tenancies in place, allowing for them to be vacated in a short space of time, with a demolition consent already approved by council," says Hall.

He describes the site as being rectangular, with about 40m of road frontage to Cheshire St. It has a total building height limit of 27m.

New drainage has been put in place behind the houses and the topography allows for carpark levels to be built under any new proposed development.

"The property is a one-minute walk from the new $12 million Parnell Train Station, three-minute walk to Parnell Road's shops, restaurants and buses, plus a new retirement village is currently planned just along from the site, so there is plenty going on within a stone's throw of the property," says Hall.

JLL agent John Binning says that the attraction of Parnell for commercial use is huge due to its accessibility to motorways, bus and train services as well as the suburb itself with its character properties, cafes, restaurants and retail offerings. "The Cheshire St site would be an ideal location for an apartment development, student accommodation, boutique hotel, or a commercial office development," says Binning.

JLL associate director of research, Tom Barclay says though property in Parnell is generally tightly held by the investor community, there have been some significant sales of late.

"In terms of development, Parnell continues to forge ahead. The St George Corporate Centre is moving closer to completion and will be anchored by Xero. Apartment developments in the area include the Edition Apartments, comprising 18 high-end units due for completion in 2019."