Historic Melbourne CBD building listed for sale

A classically designed Victorian-era freehold building in Melbourne's CBD is going under the CBRE hammer on December 10.

The five-level freestanding building at 8 Drewery Place formerly housed Sniders and Abrahams cigar manufacturing factory dating back to 1890.

This part of Melbourne saw a concentration of tobacco-oriented firms that established large factories and warehouses in the late Victorian-era and Edwardian period.

The 490 Flinders Street property fetched $4.1 million, about $1 million above the reserve price and for a yield of 2.33%.

About 8 Drewery Place, Rutman said it is one of the only properties of its kind in the street, with most others having already been converted to residential apartments.

“The building has been owned within the same family for a generation and provides a very exciting investment prospect as well as genuine potential to convert, subdivide or redevelop in the future,” Rutman said.

The building is expected to go in the range of $15 million.

The property is located just behind Swanston Street and is wedged within what is fast becoming known as the “Golden Triangle” of city retail – between Melbourne Central, Emporium and the QV Complex.

The name of the lane was changed in 1872 from Brewery to Drewery Lane. According to the City of Melbourne Planning Scheme, it was named after the chemist Thomas Drewery, who was elected a City Councillor for Gipps Ward in 1851.

According to historian Weston Bate, however, it was named after London's Drury Lane.

Today, the ornate building houses a range of retail and office tenants and has seen a dramatic increase in pedestrian activity as the CBD has grown its permanent residential, student and tourist populations. It sits directly adjacent to an entry point into Melbourne Central Shopping Centre which also drives pedestrian flow and retail activity in the laneway.