Biggest city sale to usher in offices

Jessica Benton
A MULTI-million-dollar real estate sale has paved the way for further commercial development of Geelong’s waterfront precinct, according to the buyer.
Property developer David Hamilton said he bought a former wool store at 43-45 Brougham Street with plans to create a three-level office development.
The building, opposite Geelong’s TAC headquarters, was home to a former Fitness Physique gym before the sale.
Mr Hamilton said his redevelopment plan aimed to enhance the waterfront precinct and bring back more workers to the central activity center.
“We’re hoping that by providing such a facility we might be able to generate more employment.”
Mr Hamilton said he was in talks with a number of potential tenants including a call centre company.
He said the redevelopment would cater for four to five “major tenants”.
Under the name The Cunningham, the new offices would cover 1583 square metres of allotment on Brougham Street.
The refurbishment plan proposes three levels of office space, totaling about 4000 square metres.
Real estate agent Bob Gartland called Mr Hamilton’s purchase “the most substantial sale in the waterfront precinct this year”.
“The waterfront has been the subject and focus of the commercial property market in Geelong for some time,” he said.
“This recent sale enhances the viability of the area and Geelong as a destination for both investors and developers’ funds.”
Mr Hamilton’s company, David Hamilton Property Group, was also behind the precinct’s first wool store redevelopment when it turned a building now occupied by Ford Discovery Centre into retail space in 1985.