Idle site a prime parcel
Council land gifted to genU worth about $1.5m now
A VACANT 1630sq m site in old Ocean Grove would be snapped up quickly and for a high price if listed for sale.
If sold as two blocks, a local agent believes they would be worth about $750,000 each.
However, the vacant land, formerly netball courts, at 77-79 Draper St, will be built on to support people with a disability after the City of Greater Geelong transferred the site to genU, formerly Karingal, for free in April 2016.
Hayden, Ocean Grove agent Hugh McKewan said there would be huge demand for a site such as this from developers.
“If it was split into two blocks they would be worth about $750,000 each,” Mr McKewan said. He wasn’t sure what it would be worth if the site sold as a whole but it wouldn’t be $1.5 million.
“Provided it was at the right price it would be sold very smartly I would think,” Mr McKewan said.
He said the zoning would also play a big part in the price, as if it was zoned residential three it would be able to be a higher density development.
However, the property zoned residential two.
An 850sq m block in the next street over, with a house on it and zoned residential three, sold for $938,000 late last year. is
Mr McKewan said the buyers planned on holding 61 Powell St West as an investment.
He said other people buying in that area were knocking down houses and rebuilding, proving how in-demand and valuable land was.
The prime parcel of land in Draper St was controversially gifted to genU and questions have been asked recently why building hasn’t started on the site nearly two years after the deal.
The service provider was obligated to start building within a year of the deal going through, however preliminary work only started last week.