Caydon buys Moonee Ponds market site
Caydon has acquired the former local market Moonee Ponds site with plans to create a $650 million apartment, retail and office project.
News Ltd reports the price was around $45 million.
It was sold by the joint owners Leighton Properties and Qualitas, who had paid $23 million last year.
Located at 40 Hall Street and 34-36 Margaret Street, the Moonee Ponds site has a concept plan for a multi-staged development comprising about 1,200 apartments.
Leighton Properties and Qualitas acquired the 1.34 hectare site from Reading International in October 2013.
The US-based Reading Cinema chain sat on what was a car park for 15 years ago having bought it with the hope of building a landmark entertainment complex.
The land was permitted in 1997 to become a 12-screen cinema complex which rival Hoyts went to VCAT to prevent being built.
In 2012 after not receiving any formal building application, the Moonee Valley Council demanded Reading sell the site as the suburb ranks in the state government's Melbourne 2030 planning policy as an activity centre.
Caydon has other major inner city projects planned including Flemington.
There was its late 2014 acquisition of the Richmond Malt site on the fringe of the Melbourne CBD.
