RMIT is selling its Building 108, pictured here around 2006-07.
RMIT has listed its Bourke Street tower as the university sector battles financial stress caused by coronavirus.
Building 108, also known as The Tivoli, at 235 Bourke Street is expected to collect upwards of $120 million, with the university confirming the sale had been “expedited” by COVID-19.
It will initially be leased back to the university, which currently owns the strata for levels four to 17.
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The university has $120m hopes for the building.
The building made headlines in 2006 after a cluster of brain cancer cases emerged at the building, with 18 malignant tumours detected in people who had attended the campus.
However multiple studies have concluded the tower was not the cause of the cancer cases.
RMIT property services executive director Chris Hewison said the building was located away from its core city campus and not seen as of long-term strategic value.
“While our ownership of the property has been regularly reviewed since the completion of
the Swanston Academic Building in late 2012, the process has been expedited in light of
COVID-19,” he said.
CBRE’s Kiran Pillai said the building would attract local and international investors looking to modernise it either as office or education space.
How the entry looked in 2006-07.
“The travel restrictions will create a bit of a dynamic, but a lot of those big investors are represented by local managers,” Mr Pillai said.
“The property offers investors a true value-add opportunity in a precinct of Melbourne that
is set to go through significant structural change in the near term.
“It’s a great investment with heaps of upside.”
Gross Waddell conjunctional agent Andrew Waddell said it was rare to see such a property listed in Melbourne’s CBD.
“The building’s location at the epicentre of the CBD’s commercial, cultural and retail precincts is set to be a key drawcard for prospective purchasers,” Mr Waddell said.
The international expressions of interest sale will commence in the coming days, according to CBRE.
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