Racecourse sale is odds-on to win

By Garry Howe
THE sale of the Pakenham racecourse site last week is set to provide a win-win situation for the wider Pakenham community.
Gerard Collins Real Estate director Derrick Brown, who helped clinch the sale to the Industry Superannuation Property Trust for a figure believed to be more than $30 million, said it would have a two-pronged benefit for the district.
Mr Brown said the sale would provide a nice finishing touch to the development of the Pakenham township and also benefit the racing industry by providing a world class venue at Tynong.
He also had a hand in the sale of the 243-hectare property between Tynong and Nar Nar Goon to the racing club in 2008. The club hopes to be racing at the new site by late 2014.
Mr Brown described the existing 27-hectare Racecourse Road site as being unique in the Melbourne metropolitan area.
He said there were similar offerings in some of the new suburbs, but nothing that had the established infrastructure and access to transport that the Pakenham site offered.
“It will create a nice finishing touch to the Pakenham township,” he said.
“And no one really appreciates the value of this new facility at Tynong – to have a state of the art racing track in the fastest growing corridor in Australia at the moment is incredible.”
Pakenham Racing Club chairman Don Duffy signed the sale contract last Wednesday with one of Australia’s largest property fund management companies, the Industry Superannuation Property Trust (ISPT).
Melbourne-based ISPT was one of three final bidders for the property, was initially attracted to the site by Mr Brown in 2008, and revisited it about four months ago after the sale to the Corcoris Group fell through.
The sale price was not released but is believed to be more than $30 million, and the site is expected to be carved up into 500 house lots of varying sizes.
The State Government re-zoned the racecourse to Comprehensive Development Zone in 2010, paving the way for it to be transformed into mixed-use development including retail, commercial, retirement, and residential.
ISPT chief executive Daryl Browning said the racecourse site would be developed in line with the company’s core development philosophies of quality, sustainability, and community, which he said would create a new benchmark for the region.
Development and opportunities fund manager David McFadyen said ISPT was certainly aware of the significance of the site, which has been used as a racecourse since the club reformed in 1926, and that any development would reflect that heritage in some way.
“It would be appropriate to use that heritage as a theme in the development, particularly when branding,” he said.
Mr Duffy said the club was pleased with the result, which would enable it to fund the Tynong racecourse project’s first stage.
“We are very happy about the sale,” Mr Duffy said.
“The sale contract is now unconditional and this provides certainty for the club, given ISPT’s ability to deliver a sale transaction of this size.
“More importantly, it means we can fund stage one as planned and without compromise.
“The contract provides for us to vacate the current racecourse by 12 February 2014, at which point the trainers and training operations will be relocated to the new racecourse.
“Racing begins at the new course in late 2014, with Racing Victoria having allocated 24 race meetings at the new venue for its first season in operation.”
Construction will begin on the new racecourse in July. Mr Duffy acknowledged support from Cardinia Shire Council throughout the sale process and particularly with due diligence reports.
“The shire continues to provide tremendous support to the club’s relocation plans and with the racecourse sale process,” he said.
ISPT is co-owned by 24 of Australia’s superannuation funds and invests the superannuation savings of more than 40 per cent of the Australian workforce and their families in property portfolios. It has more than $7 billion in assets currently under management.
It’s currently involved with many developments across Melbourne including Alamanda at Point Cook, Society in South Yarra, and Eden and Haven at Abbotsford.
Mr Brown described ISPT as a nice fit to develop the iconic Pakenham site.
“They have the ability to draw on professional people and on that basis will leave no stone unturned to get a total development that will enhance Pakenham,” he said.
“The Pakenham Racing Club should be proud that they have acquired a site, sold a site to a developer, and been able to fund the whole thing themselves.”